The Sunnyvale Sun

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Seeking world peace and understanding on Mt. Everest

By Marilyn Fahey

Not many people will ever face the challenges Lance Trumbull has. Since 2002, when he decided to form a multicultural team that would climb Mt. Everest, his "to do" list has looked something like this:

*Scour the earth for a culturally diverse group of climbers.

*Convince corporations to sponsor a dangerous climb.

*Climb the world's highest mountain.

*Make a film about it.

Completing just one of these tasks requires more than perseverance and luck. It also helps to be inspired. And that's what Trumbull, a former Sunnyvale resident, has been since he first got the idea for what would become the Everest Peace Project.

It happened in October 2002 on a mountaintop in Ladakh, India. Trumbull had already been in Asia for several months, after selling his online rare book business and everything else except a duffel bag and some climbing gear. He'd left the Bay Area and was living the life of a mountain climbing/trekking pilgrim--visiting, among other places, Tibet, Mongolia, Russia and Nepal. On the mountaintop in Ladakh, Trumbull had the notion that he needed to organize a multicultural climb up Everest--something that would promote peace, teamwork and cultural understanding.

"I had no idea how to go about it, but I was determined to do it," he says. "I felt like Frodo in Lord of the Rings, given this task that I had to make happen. There was never a matter of saying 'no'to it."

Trumbull immediately began writing ideas in his journal about how he would organize the climb. After spending many months in Nepal putting the project together, he returned to Sunnyvale to finish the rest of the logistics and planning of the climb. In 2004 he incorporated the Everest Peace Project.

First and foremost, an organized climb needs climbers, and Trumbull found his through the Internet, by putting out ads and through word of mouth. The group he formed includes nine climbers (including himself), hailing from Israel, Palestine, South Africa, New Zealand, India and the U.S. It was particularly challenging finding Ali Bushnaq, the Palestinian climber; luckily, members of the Israeli Alpine Club knew about Bushnaq and pointed Trumbull in the right direction.

Climbing Everest is not only very physically demanding; it's also very expensive. Climbs typically cost $20,000 to $50,000. Trumbull believes it's a good thing it costs so much: "That way, the climbers have a serious financial investment in the climb, as well as an emotional investment."

Trumbull found sponsors to help offset the costs, and his climbers only had to pay about half of what they would have. It helped that they climbed from the Tibet side, which is less expensive, and that they did things inexpensively, but not cheaply, Trumbull emphasizes.

Because climbing Everest is such a dangerous endeavor, it wasn't easy finding businesses or individuals to donate or provide sponsorship money. "It was easier to get people to commit to gear and supplies," says Trumbull. Which is what Mountain Hardwear, The North Face, Trango and several other companies did. They supplied everything from tents and climbing gear to high-altitude food portable toilet systems.

Trumbull finally found major financial support from Panasonic's Toughbook Division. "Panasonic made our climb," he says.

The peace climbers ascended Mt. Shasta in 2004 and Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2005 before tackling the 60-day Everest expedition in 2006.

"It's always difficult on expeditions," says Trumbull. "Not showering, sharing tiny tents for 60 days, putting your life on the line--there's bound to be moments of tension, and there were small issues and glitches."

But whatever difficulties they faced had nothing to do with their cultural diversity. In fact, Bushnaq formed a particularly strong bond with the two Israeli climbers, Micha Yaniv and David (Dudu) Yifrah. News of the climb and of the friendship between the Palestinian and Israeli climbers was front-page news in Israel.

Ten climbers (including Sherpas) reached Everest's summit on May 18, 2006. Trumbull wasn't among them. It was never his intention to reach the summit; he remained at the advance base camp (at a mere 21,000 feet), monitoring the others' progress and providing weather updates. When he heard that the team had reached the summit, Trumbull says, "It was an incredible moment in my life." He believes the film about the expedition (called Everest: A Climb for Peace) will portray some of what he and the other climbers felt that day.

About a month after the expedition, Trumbull and his wife moved to Portland, Ore. "If I had my way, we'd live in Sunnyvale, but we can't afford to buy a home in this crazy California housing market," he says. Trumbull turned his attention to directing and producing the film. Making the film and finding a distributor for it have proved to be a challenge. After the climb, he thought "people would be throwing money at us to make the film.'' But he struggled to find funding. Team Everest, Inc., a network marketing company, is now a major sponsor of the film. "They believe in the film and what we're doing," says Trumbull.

The Dalai Lama has endorsed the film as well. In a letter of support, he wrote that the film "is a tremendous achievement from several points of view. Not only does it document a spectacular climb of the world's tallest mountain, but it also shxows how the project brought together people from different faiths and cultures, who worked successfully as a team to accomplish their goal."

Like a climbing expedition, making a film takes a lot of teamwork. "Filmmaking is definitely a collaborative process," says Trumbull. "I've been truly blessed to work with a great group of producers and talented people, mostly notably with my co-collaborator Billy Marchese of Dezart Cinematic."

While he has yet to find a distributor for the film, Trumbull hopes the film will "sow the seeds of peace. It won't change the world, but it shows that people can come and do amazing things."

With the film nearly wrapped up, Trumbull remains committed to the mission of the Everest Peace Project: to show that people from diverse cultural backgrounds and faiths can unite together as friends and accomplish incredible things. To that end, the Everest Peace Project and its educational partner Room to Read have helped fund two libraries in Nepal. A future goal is to build a school there.

As to whether the peace climbers will ascend another mountain together, Trumbull's not sure where they'd go.

"Once you do Everest, what do you do next? Unless we all go to the moon together."

To learn more or to buy the film Everest: A Climb for Peace, contact the Everest Peace Project at info@everestpeaceproject.org.

or www.EverestPeaceProject.org.