Dear
Family & Friends:
During the
darkest days of World War II, King
George VI came to the microphone of the
BBC to deliver the annual Christmas
message to the British Commonwealth. He
spoke these eloquent and immortal words:
And I
said to the man who stood at the
gate of the year: “Give me a light
that I may tread safely into the
unknown.” And he replied: “Go out
into the darkness and put your hand
into the Hand of God. That shall be
to you better than light and safer
than a known way.”
As we
enter this new year, following a year of
unprecedented turmoil, hardship and
stress for many Americans, and others
abroad, I take comfort in these words,
and look forward to the future with
great hope, promise and anticipation for
the good things to come.
I wish all
of you God’s blessings, and I hope you
have a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous
2009.
I will be
returning to Nepal this year for my
third attempt to climb Mt. Everest.
Those of you who have followed my
previous adventures know that I reached
the South Summit of Mt. Everest in 2007,
becoming the oldest American to climb
that high and return alive. At 28,750
feet, I was less than 100 meters short
of the true summit at 29,035 feet. In
2008, my trip was cut short on the trek
to Base Camp when a nasty virus I
contracted on the flight to Kathmandu
morphed into pulmonary edema. Two of my
daughters, Lori and Amy, traveled with
me for the trek to Base Camp and were
hale and hearty when our trip was cut
short at the village of Pheriche (14,600
feet). Had we continued, I have no
doubt they would have easily reached
Everest Base Camp (17,600 feet). They
will be returning with me this year.
Although I
did not reach the summit of the mountain
of my dreams in 2008, the trip was a
complete success, as we visited an
orphanage in Kathmandu and distributed
much needed goods and supplies to these
precious children and their angel
caretakers. We will visit them again
this year.
I have
decided to ratchet up the challenge a
bit for my third attempt to climb Mt.
Everest by completing a traverse of the
mountain, ascending the South side in
Nepal and descending the North side in
Tibet. As far as I know, this has never
been completed by anyone my age (67 in
March). And, if I kiss the summit, I
will be the oldest American to reach the
summit of Mt. Everest.
Hopefully,
this year will be free of the
distractions that plagued last year’s
climbing season. You will recall that
the Chinese closed the North side of the
mountain and were successful in
persuading Nepal to place severe
restrictions on climbing teams moving up
the South side until the Chinese carried
the Olympic Torch up the North side to
the summit. Funny thing, after all that
sound and fury, I never saw the Torch on
the summit as part of the Olympic
ceremonies. Maybe I missed it. One
thing I can guarantee: if I make the
summit, you will see the American flag
with me--the same one I have carried to
the top of the other 7 peaks pictured on
my website:
eightsummits.com
In
September and October of 2008, I
completed a glorious 37-day, 6,279 mile
round-trip motorcycle journey to Banff
Park, Canada on my Harley Davidson Road
King Classic. I visited 3 Canadian
provinces, 10 states and 7 national
parks. I kept a motorcycle diary, shot
lots of still photos and videoed the
entire trip with a high definition
camcorder. The diary and some of the
still photos are posted on my website.
As it gets
closer to the departure date in March, I
will post another message with more
details of the expedition.
Bill Burke