GAWDA Member Tackles Everest

March 29, 2010 - PRLog -- Dewitt, NY – March 29, 2010: Everest is the world’s tallest peak, and the most sough-after accomplishment for mountaineers. Last year GAWDA Manager and Air Liquide Distributor Representative Christopher Guest set out to reach its pinnacle.  In this month’s issue, GAWDA Edge chronicles Guests ascent, the many obstacles along the way and the oxygen distribution system that helped him survive it all.

For Guest, climbing has always been a part of his life. As a child growing up in Vancouver, British Columbia, he read Sir Francis Younghusband’s The Epic of Mt. Everest and was immediately hooked. By age 12, he was hiking local mountains. In his teens, Guest took up rock climbing and ice climbing. Shortly after graduating college, he took his first expedition to the Himalayas. Since then he has scaled mountains in several of the world’s most famous ranges, including the Rockies, Andes and Southern Alps. However, there was one peak that always remained elusive. Despite an attempt in 2000 that ended in injury, Guest had yet to conquer the mountain he had read about as a child. In May 2009, he decided to take one last shot at the world’s tallest mountain.

The snow-capped peak of Mount Everest pierces the sky at a staggering 29,035 feet  (8,850 meters) above sea level. The freezing temperatures and ultra-thin air make reaching the peak an incredibly dangerous undertaking. Estimates suggest that only 4,300 people have ever reached the summit. Furthermore, the unforgiving mountain has claimed the lives of more than 200 climbers.

Christopher Guest was a mere 50 vertical ft. from reaching the mountain’s pinnacle when his oxygen mask began to fail.

There is only one way to find out how the situation ended, head over to www.GAWDAedge.org and check out the latest issue of GAWDA Edge, the online resource for young professionals in the gases and welding industry.

For more information, contact Dan Vest, editor of GAWDA Edge, dan@datakey.org  or 315-445-2347.

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Founded in 1945, the Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA) is the premier source for manufacturing knowledge, education and networking. Through its member journals (WeldingAndGasesToday.org), e-magazines, newsletters and industry wiki (www.gawdawiki.org), GAWDA connects suppliers of gases and manufacturers of related equipment as well as manufacturers of welding equipment and distribution leaders.