Dear Family & Friends:

Today, we admitted Ollie to Children’s Hospital of Orange County.  He was here for 7 weeks in late 2009.  The doctors did not feel it was safe for him to travel, so we had no choice but to re-admit him to CHOC.

Once we stabilize Ollie and do further testing, we will resume attempts to admit him for evaluation and testing at Children’s Hospital of Boston.

Bill

Dear Family & Friends:

The doctors have not approved Ollie for transport via a commercial airline because of his serious medical condition. They want him transported via medevac. His insurance carrier has not approved this expense. We have filed an appeal. The trip to Boston this Sunday has been cancelled pending the appeal.

If we can’t get insurance approval for the medevac transport, I’ll take him by train. If that is not approved, we will drive to Boston in my car. If that is not approved, I’ll hitch his carrier to my bike and we’ll pedal to Boston. Ollie would love that option.

We are not giving up on our little warrior who never complains about anything.

Stay tuned for more updates on our trip to Children’s Hospital of Boston.

Bill

Dear Family & Friends:

Ollie’s episodes have gotten significantly worse.  They are more severe and last longer.  (For those of you not familiar with this issue, please visit My Training Partner)

We have a team of medical specialists ready to evaluate Ollie at Boston Children’s Hospital, and we are flying him there tonight.

Please keep Ollie in your thoughts and prayers.  We desperately need answers and treatment options for our Angel.

Hug your children and grandchildren.  Family is  everything.

Bill

January 12, 2012

Dear Family & Friends:

In April of this year, I will be returning to Mt. Everest one last time to attempt a double ascent, which has never been done: ascend and descend on the South side in Nepal, travel to Tibet and then ascend and descend on the North side. This will be my sixth trip to the mountain of my dreams.

I will be climbing from the South side first because the lines are fixed on the South side much earlier than they are fixed on the North side. This will give me the opportunity to summit early in the season on the South side and then travel to Tibet and complete the double summit.

My expedition organizer this year will be Asian Trekking. This will be my fifth year with Asian Trekking. I have not yet selected a Sherpa for this trip, and it is possible I will have a different Sherpa on each side of the mountain. Some of you have asked about Mingma, who was my Sherpa for the last 4 climbs. Our relationship is as strong as ever. My family feels the same way about Mingma, and we hope some day he can come to America to visit us.

Thanks to Ollie, I am getting back to fighting form with my training regime. At this point, I am about 10 pounds overweight. But, this is about where I want to be when I leave for Nepal on April 3 as it gives me a comfortable margin for the 20-plus pounds I will lose on the mountain.

If you are interested in following my 2012 double summit attempt, please register on my website (eightsummits.com) and you will receive e-mail alerts when I post expedition reports from the mountain. If you have already registered, you do not need to re-register.

My good friend Alan Arnett, who summited Mt. Everest in 2011, has one of the best websites covering Mt. Everest and other mountains. He has just posted an interview with me which you may find interesting. Here is the link: http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2012/01/11/everest-2012-interview-with-bill-burke/#utm_s

I turn 70 years young in March.

God is good.

Bill

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 a light and safer than the known way.”

As we approach the New Year, 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 Holiday Season and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2012.

I will be returning to Nepal in April of 2012 to finish what I started in 2010 and 2011–a double ascent of Mt. Everest from both the South and North sides of the mountain. Those of you who have followed my previous adventures know that I summitted Mt. Everest from the South (Nepal) side in 2009, becoming the oldest American to do so. I reached the Second Step on the Northeast summit ridge on the North (Tibet) side in 2010 before being turned back by bad weather and fatigue. In 2011, I reached the First Step on the Northeast summit ridge before being turned back as a result of a miscalculation by my Sherpa. In both years, I was less than 1,000 feet from the summit. In 2012, I plan to start on the South side first because the lines are fixed on the mountain earlier on the South side than the North side. I will post more information about my 2012 expedition in January.

I have updated my website, and invite you to browse and catch up.  I have set forth the 2012 Itinerary. In the “Mt. Everest” “Intro,” I provide a comparative analysis of a South side climb and a North side climb. In the “Teammates” link, I introduce DreamQuest Productions and describe the documentary that the company is preparing related to the 2012 expedition.

For those of you who have inquired about Ollie, please check out the updated link titled “My Training Partner.” You can watch a recent video showing Ollie, his Aunt Lori, Uncle Jeff and me on one of our Sunday bicycle training trips.  Those of you who have followed my prior trips will notice how much bigger Ollie is getting. If you are interested in making a donation in honor of Ollie for Angelman Syndrome research, please consider purchasing holiday cards, personalized stationery, custom stamps or other unique gifts from my daughter, Lisa, as she donates a portion of the proceeds to the Angelman Syndrome Foundation. See Charming Cards link on this website.

2012 will be my sixth consecutive year on Mt. Everest and, most likely, my last. My passion for this magnificent mountain has not diminished in the least. In fact, I am more excited than ever to return to the mountain of my dreams. Dreams are everything. I think about the 2012 expedition every day. Robert Browning wrote: “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for.” I place my dreams and my ambitions for 2012 in the hands of the Lord. I will dedicate my body, spirit and will to the task, but He will dictate the outcome. I promise to take you every step of the way on my journey and to draw inspiration, support and encouragement from your good wishes, thoughts and prayers on my behalf.

Bill

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, and catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, dream, discover.” Mark Twain.

I couldn’t express my feelings any better. So, next year, at age 70, I plan to return to Mt. Everest to finish my quest for a double summit. This time, I plan to start on the South side in Nepal and then move to the North side in Tibet. This is because the lines are fixed much earlier on the South than on the North.

I have given this a lot of thought, although some of you may feel this is an obsession with the mountain. Maybe so. But, this year, I was within 1,000 feet of the summit, moving strong and feeling good, when I was turned around by what I feel was a miscalculation by my Sherpa. I just can’t bear to give up my dream on those terms. If I don’t succeed next year, I’ll probably declare victory based on my summit in 2009 and move on to other adventures:

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in being a damn fool about it.” W.C. Fields.

Those of you who follow my blog know that, in March of this year, on behalf of a client, I filed a Petition in the United States Supreme Court asking the Court to hear a very important case. If the Court grants my Petition and decides to hear the case, it will schedule the case for argument in 2012. If the case is not scheduled for argument before April, I will need to move the Everest expedition to 2013. I’ll let you know once the Court acts on my Petition.

Filmmaker, Allan Smith, the owner of documentary award-winning DreamQuest Productions, will be traveling with me to film the expedition. He plans to produce a documentary titled “8 Summits: The Bill Burke Story.” The poster he has prepared is depicted below. Allan has secured sponsorship from Nokia, and both Allan and Nokia are very excited about the project. So am I.

I am back into full time training. I have a long way to go to get back into fighting form, but, with help from Ollie, I know I can do it.

I will keep you posted as developments occur.

I hope you are all having a great summer.

Bill Burke

Dear Friends & Family:

I am afraid the tag line to my video-”to be continued…” created some confusion. The tag line should have said “to be continued in a future expedition.” Sorry for the confusion.

The video ended with my arrival at Camp 3, which is high camp on the North side of Everest. The route from Camp 3 to the summit proceeds up the North Face to the Northeast Ridge. I started that part of the climb at 8:30 pm, and I turned around near the First Step on the ridge line at 1am. Since it was dark during this part of the expedition, I have no video or photos to include in the presentation.

Happy 4th of July.

Bill

Dear Family & Friends:

Here is the 22 minute video I promised to post on my website.

Bill

Click here to watch in a new window.

Dear Family & Friends:

I have finally had the opportunity to read all your posts on my website blog and Eightsummits Facebook page. I am so grateful for your prayers and wonderful words of support. I thought about you all the time I was on the mountain. It brought me joy and satisfaction in the good times and sustained and motivated me in the hard times.

I am taking off the month of June, relaxing and trying to gain back some of the weight I lost on the mountain–about 15 pounds. In July, I will resume training with trips to the health club, mountain climbs and Sunday bicycle trips with my buddy Ollie.

I have prepared a 25 minute video and photo collage of the 2011 trip and will post it on my website in the next few days. The video will include the scandalous Turkish bath in Tingri so brace yourself for a real shock.

Thanks so much for following my 2011 expedition, and I hope all of you have a super great summer.

Bill