Did Pollack Summit?

Good Question. The answer is: Summit attempt was a success! Eight out of the twelve members of the expedition made it to the top of the Americas at 22,800 feet / 7,000 meters. The summit day started in the wee hours (3:30AM) and 8.5 hours later we were standing at the highest point in the world outside the Himalaya's. As a team we hits lots of interesting weather, altitude and a gorgeous sunrise. As always on major expeditions, I sobbed with glee at the summit. It was amazing.

I will be adding updates to this blog every few days with more mountain exploits.

I want to thank all of you who contributed to Make-A-Wish Foundation. Through your generosity you gave terminally ill kids lots of special wishes. Your support raised $5460 USD. I will get to you each personally.

For those of you who still want to help Make-A-Wish, click HERE to CONTRIBUTE

A serious Blog entry from my heart.

Sorry to those who expect humour and giggles. Wait till next time.

1st and Foremost......I want to thank all of you who contributed to Make-A-Wish Foundation. Through your generosity you gave terminally ill kids lots of special wishes. I commit to you to give *all* of myself to reach 7000 metres (22,000) and summit Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the world outside of Asia. Your support will help inspire me when times get tough, cold and the air thins to 1/2 strength.

For those of you who still want to help Make-A-Wish, click HERE to CONTRIBUTE.

The flight from HK==>Toronto was smooth. I am in the air on the way to Miami as I type this. Tonite I take an overnite flight to Santiago and than onto Mendoza, Argentina; a city rich in Argentinian Wine and tough & angry mules. That's where the rest of climbers meet. That will complete my 2 1/2 day journey from Hong Kong.

Mountain Madness, the guide company, established a blog on their website. Every couple of days they radio in a status which appears on the site. Here is the site ==> Mountain Madness.

How the adze of my ice axe saved the day!

REMINDER: I am climbing to 22,800 Feet (7,000 metres) for Make-A-Wish ! The summit of Aconcagua in Argentina.
My goal: $10,000 USD to give children with life-threatening medical conditions wishes to help make their dreams come true. Note: Donations go straight to Make-A-Wish!

Click DONATE on the upper right to find out more or click HERE

I hit the plane tomorrow bound for Aconcagua in Argentina. Here is how I am getting there:

Hong Kong==> Toronto ==> Miami ==> Cancun ==> Santiago ==> Mendoza

All told almost 48 hours of canned air and friendly skies.

But the big news is my Ice Axe came in handy before I even stepped foot into a plane. Here's the situation:

• I had to be out of the flat in 30 minutes for Chinese New Year's Dinner.
• I turned the shower on and shut the door 'cause I like to have the room steam up.
• BUT, it turns out that somehow, magically, the door became locked. Somehow, magically, the button inside was pressed in.
  
• So, the showers blasting and I'm dirty to the bone and the doors locked.
  
• First I panicked. My little voice said "Oh my god. What have I done. How will I get in there?" It's Chinese New Year and all the locksmith's are having dinner with their families. What will an boy from the Great State of Maine do?
• Than it came to me. I will get a hammer and bang on the knob till it breaks. Problem is I couldn't find my hammer.
• But less than a metre away was my Ice Axe I am bringing to the Mountain. I grabbed it and started banging on the knob with the adze of the ax. See diagram above. After a few hard bangs the knob came flying off with no damage to the door.
• I entered shower and became fresh and clean.
  

Special Make-A-Wish Post

I am climbing to 22,800 Feet (7,000 metres) for Make-A-Wish ! The summit of Aconcagua in Argentina.

My goal: $10,000 USD to give children with life-threatening medical conditions wishes to help make their dreams come true.

Note: Donations go straight to Make-A-Wish!

Click "DONATE" on the box to the right =========>

When I was a young lad I fell in love with mountains. They have always been a magical place to me full of mystery and mistily shrouded peaks. I thank my mom and dad for pointing me down the trail.

In the month of February I will be climbing to 7000 metres / 22,000 feet on the tallest mountain in the world outside of Asia. The mountain is Aconcagua in Argentina. Wiki Link to Mountain ==> Aconcagua

For each foot/metre I climb I will be making a donation to Make-A-Wish.

If you don't know, Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with severe medical conditions. www.wish.org/

Some recent wishes include:

• "I want to meet Michael Jordan"
• "I wish to ride a horse"
• "I wish to be a Cowboy"

I look forward to your support and thank you in advance for helping the kids climb their own personal mountain.

Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure and your donation goes straight to Make-A-Wish. It is the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts. Example: If you pledged 1/4 cent USD per foot I climb, the total would be $55 USD. Sound good? Of course do what you can.

Post#7 I am blame it on the washing machine

((I have setup a toll free US Phone# 1-888-388-6424 which will ring me in HK so grab me when you want))

He’s Back! Or in the first person: “I’m Back”.

You are undoubtably saying to yourself “where did David go?”

Some of you know me by my stage name of Tony Sapphire. In that case you are undoubtably saying to yourself “where did Tony go?”.

Others know me as Billy Gondola as according to some sages I was born on a chairlift.

In any case I (david, tony, billy, etc…) am back!!!

There is a very simple explanation for my disappearance that might seem fantastical at first but none the less it is true.

The reason is: My washing machine.

I will say it again: The reason the blogs have been absent for four months is due to my washing machine.

How can a washing machine keep David/Billy/Tony off the Blog radar? The reason is it’s specs eg specifications. Don’t hit delete. I am being truthful. Most washing machines I have ever dealt with work quick and easy. 40 min wash / 40 min dry. Full load of clothes. Bim, boom, bam.

My machine is in a whole different category. And it’s not just me. Many of the machines in HK work the same. Here is the specs for a basic cleaning:

2 hour wash / 4 hour dry. Plus the machine can only hold a handful of clothes. A couple bath towels is about it. And, oh yeah, the washer is the dryer (and vice versa) so I can't double task and wash and dry at the same time. Tragically, only one is available at a time.

So do the math. If you add up:

pants + shorts + shirts + towels + socks+ my "un-mentionables" equals:

4 months of cleaning !!!

But I am done. No more cleaning; at least until tomorrow. But for now I am all yours.