NH 48 "Unassisted" Speed Record Attempt

[Sherpa John]

Hello Everyone,

Most of you know I’ll be replicating the Fitch Brothers Epic Journey of 1973 as another way to raise money for Team Sherpa and the ADA (American Diabeties Assoc). The journey is starting Saturday August 6 and god willing, ending on August 10 atop Mount Madison.

Many have asked to see updates throughout the journey. Instead of swamping the site with so many postings from Team Sherpa members during the adventure, we’ll post progress reports on an alternate site. This will make it easier on the community, the Admins, and especially on those who want to monitor my progress to do so easily. Simply go to http://rbhayes.net/fitch46.htm The site is up now.

Special thanks to Bob Hayes for setting that up for us! He’ll be updating the day’s progress each evening. At the end of the adventure, Bob will post a completion follow up and I will have a rather large trip report for those who enjoy them, when I return home on August 14.

I’m hoping that in honor of the original Fitch journey, and the countless thousands of other journeys taken in the Whites over the subsequent years, that you are able to make a donation to the ADA. The famous line ‘every little bit helps’ is so true. If you can donate ‘per peak’ or any amount, we greatly appreciate your efforts in helping us reach our lofty goal of $48,000. You can easily donate on line at any of the sites within this posting. If you are not comfortable donating online, please stop in The Mountain Wanderer in Lincoln or The Crawford Notch General Store & Campground who are accepting donations on site.

For more information on the adventure itself, please visit: http://rbhayes.net/fitch46.htm
For more information on Team Sherpa: www.wildwhites.com
For more information on “48” the movie: www.48movie.com

And for the latest News Article: http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=58515

Thanks again for all your support folks-- I truly do appreciate it.

Sherpa John

Special thanks to the site admins for allowing us to put this here.

 

[MichaelJ]

SJ - this is a great effort, thanks for bringing word of it to AlpineZone!

 

[bobandgeri]

John started off right at 4 AM this morning from the Stony Brook trailhead. Here are his times:
Moriah-5:54 AM, Middle Carter-7:40 AM, South Carter-8:01 AM, Carter Dome-8:41 AM, Wildcat A-10:01 AM, Wildcat B- 10:46 AM, Wildcat E, 10:52 AM, Wildcat parking lot 11:28 AM, Back at Stony Brook at 12:10 PM.

He then drove down to Passaconaway and summited that at 3:10 PM, Whiteface at 4:09 PM. At this point his right leg started cramped up severely. He managed to work through the pain and keep going. Next he turned onto Downes Brook at 4:30 PM where his right leg became a giant knot. At this time John made the wise but very difficult decision to stop his attempt for the Fitch 46 record.

John is very sad that he was not able to complete his goal, a little for himself, but mostly for what he had hoped to gain for the fight against diabetes. He has learned a lot about what kind of physical and emotional stress this type of effort can place on a person.

John plans to train harder and WILL make another attempt. His desire to use hiking as way to raise money for the fight against diabetes has not changed.

Please join us in wishing John the best in his future endeavors. We know that this is just a temporary setback, and that we will see him once again leading the effort in goal of raising $48,000 for the fight against diabetes.

 

[smitty77]

Sorry to hear about the leg John. It looks like you were absolutely cruising up until that point. Not to worry though - the mountains and your supporters will always be there.

Better luck next time!
Smitty

 

[MichaelJ]

John's fiancee posted later that he may have a torn quad, so stopping was definitely the right idea. As it was, in a day he did 9 4000-footers and continues to bring attention to the fight against diabetes, no small feat!

 

[ChileMass]

Wow - a great effort!! Possible re-try next year?

 

[smitty77]

Wow - a great effort!! Possible re-try next year?

I think the plan for next year is to make a run at the overall record for the 48, held briefly by Cave Dog and currently held by Tim Seaver, around the 4th of July. Although he was attempting the Fitch brother's unassisted record, he was also using this was a "training run" for next year's attempt.

Smitty

 

[Mike P.]

A great start, an unfortunate delay in finishing. get well soon SJ!