Billings, Kim

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UNH Scholars' Repository

University of New HampshireUniversity of New Hampshire Scholars' RepositoryMedia Relations Administrative Offices4-26-2000UNH Graduate Reaches New Heights on EverestKim BillingsUNH Media RelationsFollow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/newsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Administrative Offices at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Media Relations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For moreinformation, please contact nicole.hentz@unh.edu.Recommended CitationBillings, Kim, "UNH Graduate Reaches New Heights on Everest" (2000). UNH Today. 2754.https://scholars.unh.edu/news/275412/4/17, 11(45 AMUNH Graduate Reaches New Heights on EverestPage 1 of 3http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/news_releases/2000/april/kb_20000426everest.htmlInventa Everest 2000EnvironmentalExpedition UNH Graduate Reaches NewHeights on EverestBy Kim BillingsUNH News BureauDURHAM, N.H. -- A 1997 University of NewHampshire alumna has left her day job as a teacher totake on a position of dazzling new heights. NikkiCampell, who graduated from UNH with a degree inkinesiology, specializing in outdoor education, is thebase camp manager for a Mount Everest expedition thatincludes a massive mountainside clean-up of discardedoxygen bottles, shredded tents and other abandonedgear.Two previous teams in 1995 and 1998 led by renownedclimber Bob Hoffman recovered more than 300 oxygenbottles and removed over a ton of debris from themountain. The ultimate goal is to have Everest near itsoriginal condition in 2003 -- in time for the 50thanniversary of the first ascent in 1953.Mount Everest is located in the Khumbu Region ofnortheastern Nepal, and spans the border betweenNepal and Tibet. At 29,028 feet, the summit of MountEverest is the highest point on earth. The base camp isabout 17,600 feet above sea level. "I've never been thekind of climber who thought I'd take on Everest," saysCampbell, who grew up in Wilmington, Del., "and Idon't plan to summit on this trip -- not my cup of teareally. But to be surrounded by the highest mountains inthe world and inundated by the spirituality of a culture Ihave only read about is incredible."An avid rock-climber, Campbell was teaching at acommunity college in California when one of herclimbing partners was accepted onto the Everestclimbing team. He told her they needed a base campmanager and, on a whim, she applied for the position."Being on Everest never even occurred to me before,"she says. "It's an incredibly amazing place in so manyways, but I've never been the kind of climber who set12/4/17, 11(45 AMUNH Graduate Reaches New Heights on EverestPage 2 of 3http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/news_releases/2000/april/kb_20000426everest.html my sights on it."The added bonus, she says, is working with a group ofpeople dedicated to environmental concerns. The 2000Everest Environmental Expedition's mission is to climbEverest and continue a significant cleanup that beganfive years ago of discarded oxygen bottles and debrisfrom the high camps on the mountain.Members of the team are celebrities in mountaineeringcircles: Jamling Tenzing Norgay, star of the IMAXEverest movie, is the official trekking team leader.Famed Apa Sherpa, record holder for 10 summits onMount Everest is the lead Sherpa.While Campbell has extensive climbing experience --she has summited peaks in the White Mountains whilea UNH undergraduate, as well as mountains out West --she says it was her educational experience at UNH thatbest prepared her for this latest challenge."The Outdoor Education Program is tops in the country,and having a degree from UNH has gone a long way ingetting me to where I am nowä17,600 feet above sealevel! I would have been nowhere without having theright skills and experience, and I have UNH to thankfor that necessary foundation."She also will assist researchers there who,coincidentially, are collecting snow and ice samplesfrom the upper Khumbu Glacier for UNH's ClimateChange Research Center. The chemical composition ofthe samples will be analyzed by UNH ClimatologistCameron Wake as part of an ongoing study of regionalclimate patterns and climate change in Central Asia.The information can be used to develop a detailedrecord of changes in the strength of the annualmonsoon, considered invaluable because the Asianmonsoon provides rain to 50 percent of the world'spopulation.As base camp manager, Campell is responsible for,well, just about everything: daily communications viathe Internet and satellite phone; radio contact with theclimbing teams; keeping a daily log of activities atcamp and on the trail to the summit.12/4/17, 11(45 AMUNH Graduate Reaches New Heights on EverestPage 3 of 3http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/news_releases/2000/april/kb_20000426everest.htmlShe also manages all health issues, potentialevacuations, food preparation and menu planning, andgeneral oversight and repair of all supplies andequipment.Campbell also is responsible for cataloging andorganizing the waste that is brought down from themountain. It needs to be transported to Kathmandu tobe recycled and disposed of properly."It sounds like a lot," she says, "but I think once I getthe daily routine down, it won't be such a big deal."Campbell also has been appointed the trekking leaderfor a second group of hikers who are arriving in mid-May. She will fly back to Kathmandu to lead in tobasecamp the group of trekkers. She also plans tosummit some of the nearby mountains, Island Peak(20,000 ft.) and Kala Pattar (18,000 feet).The expedition plans to return to the U.S. sometime inJune. The expedition's website iswww.everestcleanup.com.The expedition's primary sponsor is Inventa -- a leadingeBusiness professional services firm that providesbusiness-to-business e-Commerce systems integrationand solutions to Global 2000 companies and emergingdigital businesses.April 26, 2000Back to unh.edu.

UNH Graduate Reaches New Heights on Everest

University of New Hampshire

University of New HampshireUniversity of New Hampshire Scholars' RepositoryMedia Relations Administrative Offices4-26-2000UNH Graduate Reaches New Heights on EverestKim BillingsUNH Media RelationsFollow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/newsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Administrative Offices at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Media Relations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For moreinformation, please contact nicole.hentz@unh.edu.Recommended CitationBillings, Kim, "UNH Graduate Reaches New Heights on Everest" (2000). UNH Today. 2961.https://scholars.unh.edu/news/296112/4/17, 11(45 AMUNH Graduate Reaches New Heights on EverestPage 1 of 3http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/news_releases/2000/april/kb_20000426everest.htmlInventa Everest 2000EnvironmentalExpedition UNH Graduate Reaches NewHeights on EverestBy Kim BillingsUNH News BureauDURHAM, N.H. -- A 1997 University of NewHampshire alumna has left her day job as a teacher totake on a position of dazzling new heights. NikkiCampell, who graduated from UNH with a degree inkinesiology, specializing in outdoor education, is thebase camp manager for a Mount Everest expedition thatincludes a massive mountainside clean-up of discardedoxygen bottles, shredded tents and other abandonedgear.Two previous teams in 1995 and 1998 led by renownedclimber Bob Hoffman recovered more than 300 oxygenbottles and removed over a ton of debris from themountain. The ultimate goal is to have Everest near itsoriginal condition in 2003 -- in time for the 50thanniversary of the first ascent in 1953.Mount Everest is located in the Khumbu Region ofnortheastern Nepal, and spans the border betweenNepal and Tibet. At 29,028 feet, the summit of MountEverest is the highest point on earth. The base camp isabout 17,600 feet above sea level. "I've never been thekind of climber who thought I'd take on Everest," saysCampbell, who grew up in Wilmington, Del., "and Idon't plan to summit on this trip -- not my cup of teareally. But to be surrounded by the highest mountains inthe world and inundated by the spirituality of a culture Ihave only read about is incredible."An avid rock-climber, Campbell was teaching at acommunity college in California when one of herclimbing partners was accepted onto the Everestclimbing team. He told her they needed a base campmanager and, on a whim, she applied for the position."Being on Everest never even occurred to me before,"she says. "It's an incredibly amazing place in so manyways, but I've never been the kind of climber who set12/4/17, 11(45 AMUNH Graduate Reaches New Heights on EverestPage 2 of 3http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/news_releases/2000/april/kb_20000426everest.html my sights on it."The added bonus, she says, is working with a group ofpeople dedicated to environmental concerns. The 2000Everest Environmental Expedition's mission is to climbEverest and continue a significant cleanup that beganfive years ago of discarded oxygen bottles and debrisfrom the high camps on the mountain.Members of the team are celebrities in mountaineeringcircles: Jamling Tenzing Norgay, star of the IMAXEverest movie, is the official trekking team leader.Famed Apa Sherpa, record holder for 10 summits onMount Everest is the lead Sherpa.While Campbell has extensive climbing experience --she has summited peaks in the White Mountains whilea UNH undergraduate, as well as mountains out West --she says it was her educational experience at UNH thatbest prepared her for this latest challenge."The Outdoor Education Program is tops in the country,and having a degree from UNH has gone a long way ingetting me to where I am nowä17,600 feet above sealevel! I would have been nowhere without having theright skills and experience, and I have UNH to thankfor that necessary foundation."She also will assist researchers there who,coincidentially, are collecting snow and ice samplesfrom the upper Khumbu Glacier for UNH's ClimateChange Research Center. The chemical composition ofthe samples will be analyzed by UNH ClimatologistCameron Wake as part of an ongoing study of regionalclimate patterns and climate change in Central Asia.The information can be used to develop a detailedrecord of changes in the strength of the annualmonsoon, considered invaluable because the Asianmonsoon provides rain to 50 percent of the world'spopulation.As base camp manager, Campell is responsible for,well, just about everything: daily communications viathe Internet and satellite phone; radio contact with theclimbing teams; keeping a daily log of activities atcamp and on the trail to the summit.12/4/17, 11(45 AMUNH Graduate Reaches New Heights on EverestPage 3 of 3http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/news_releases/2000/april/kb_20000426everest.htmlShe also manages all health issues, potentialevacuations, food preparation and menu planning, andgeneral oversight and repair of all supplies andequipment.Campbell also is responsible for cataloging andorganizing the waste that is brought down from themountain. It needs to be transported to Kathmandu tobe recycled and disposed of properly."It sounds like a lot," she says, "but I think once I getthe daily routine down, it won't be such a big deal."Campbell also has been appointed the trekking leaderfor a second group of hikers who are arriving in mid-May. She will fly back to Kathmandu to lead in tobasecamp the group of trekkers. She also plans tosummit some of the nearby mountains, Island Peak(20,000 ft.) and Kala Pattar (18,000 feet).The expedition plans to return to the U.S. sometime inJune. The expedition's website iswww.everestcleanup.com.The expedition's primary sponsor is Inventa -- a leadingeBusiness professional services firm that providesbusiness-to-business e-Commerce systems integrationand solutions to Global 2000 companies and emergingdigital businesses.April 26, 2000Back to unh.edu.

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UNH Graduate Reaches New Heights on Everest

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