Andy Harris Mount Everest

Yasuko Namba

A businesswoman from Japan, Namba summited Everest in 1996 to become the second Japanese woman to climb the greatest top for each regarding the seven continents.

John Taske: She was a little woman; I've never ever satisfied a lady much more determined. About 100 pounds in weight, you can forget, but as far as determination goes, she had been twice that fat in dedication. However, nature being just what it's, hypothermia, body mass - she had a little human body mass; she would have gotten desperately cool significantly more rapidly than a typical individual twice her fat. And there was almost no possibility of her enduring in those sorts of problems.

Beck Weathers: Yasuko had been diminutive, plus some of her choice of equipment reflected that. She had many different titanium things, because she cannot carry very similar weight actually. She just did not have the human anatomy power.

She ended up being reserved; she ended up being a really peaceful individual. She ended up being extremely proper, and she was an enjoyable individual become around. She was greatly contained within by herself, but as soon as you got this lady going, she had been simply positively dedicated to continuing to maneuver, and achieve what she found achieve - most likely much more possibly than anybody else on all of us, with regards to only sheer focus and drive, and commitment on an objective, rather than only being truth be told there. And I also don't know that at that time, whenever we were in camp early on, that people recognized so how mentally focused and just how tough she ended up being.

Rob Hall

Who owns Adventure Consultants, Hall had made a name for himself in mountaineering whenever, in 1990, he and Gary Ball summited the seven highest mountains worldwide in seven months.

Guy Cotter: Rob had a really dried out, laconic sense of humor. You very first satisfy him and also you believe, "he's all business." And Rob might have every little thing organized; he'd be sort of making certain every thing had been going really. He wasn't the kind of character who would stand-up and simply order everyone around; he always provided lots straight back. There clearly was constantly lots of fun, most smiles, plenty of simple, wry jokes that you had to learn him for a while just before'd have the hang from it.

Some individuals found his character along with his methodical method a touch too serious in some means until they surely got to understand him quite better and they knew that, yeah certain, Rob was all business when it found organizing things, but he liked to let free whenever all had been done, every little thing was completed the way it should happen. He adored to own a laugh and several beers because of the staff like anyone else.

Beck Weathers: many of my photos of Rob need to do because of the laughter regarding the guy. However have an absolutely synthetic face, in which he could tell jokes. And then he laughed much harder than anybody; perhaps not as the method he told a tale, he just enjoyed a tale, the camaraderie from it. We had evening after evening of tall tales, and swapping lies, and the rest, and Rob could hold his very own utilizing the most useful of these. I remember among the very first things once I got here, he wanted to make certain that not one people had been going to be a number of down, whiny sorts of individuals. And he nearly appeared to be Popeye, as he'd go and say, "you aren't going to be one of these moaners, tend to be ya?" [Laughter] And I ended up being saying, "Nope, perhaps not me personally! Nope, perhaps not me, not merely one moan. Not myself, not here."

Andy Harris

A guide for Adventure Consultants and helicopter skiing guide in wintertime, Harris ended up being making his first Everest summit attempt using the 1996 journey.

Guy Cotter: Andy Harris was a fun-loving, powerful guy. I understood him from working at Mount Cook here in brand new Zealand, when you look at the hills. He was helpful tips that has an excellent love of life. He was a very good, lovable, slap-on-the-back sort of guy, whom you might have a beneficial laugh with. Andy ended up being the type of man that would make everyone around him think they certainly were in good hands. He was the type of man that you ended up developing an excellent fondness for.

And whilst I becamen't from the journey, this journey in '96, i really could tell through the little time that we spent with him prior to all of them going that Andy seriously was one of many staff hence he was needs to really succeed as a high-altitude guide and that he'd the love and value regarding the various other people in the group.

Beck Weathers: Andy could have lacked Himalayan experience, but he performed have plenty of experience in brand new Zealand. And so, he definitely had the skill set that was required. He in addition really was strong; he was a man who was simply willing. He was a confident, enjoyable, upbeat fellow. Andy eventually proved he had the sort of personality, and exactly what it took, to-be an exceptional guide. In which he fundamentally, in a really heroic work on his component, can give their life to attempt to save yourself Doug's. That states just about everything you should know by what form of guy he had been. And he was caught up on it. He actually returned and merely kept cranking, wanting to save yourself him.

Doug Hansen

A postal worker from Washington state who had been climbing for 12 years, Hansen turned back simply short of Everest's summit in 1995.

Lou Kasischke: Doug was a rather likeable, easygoing individual. Doug was very thoughtful, too, deferential. He had been always type of searching, making certain you'd a spot to sit or whatever. He had been always someone who, I was thinking, had been thinking about the other person.