5 1/2 hands, 5 1/2 feet for four men – a strange combination from around the world; united by a common history of personal adversity and a quest for a route to Africa’s summit
Paul Pritchard – UK.Well known extreme climber. Now hemiplegic from his 1998 accident on the Totem Pole, a sea stack off the Australian coast. Has limited control over his right side. Paul is also known for receiving the prestigious Boardman and Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature twice (for Deep Play, 1997 and The Totem Pole, 1999). His past specialty in extreme rock climbs on alpine peaks included a new route on the 1200 meter East Face of Central Tower in the Torre de Paine, Patagonia. At grade VI, 5.10, A4, the route’s name, EL REGALO DE MWOMA, translates from the Patagonian native Tehuelche Indian language, “A Gift from God”.
David Lim – Singapore. Best known in Asia for leading the 1st Singapore Everest Expedition in 1998, his 50 alpine and expedition ascents have included many climbs in the French, Swiss and NZ Alps; as well as the Andes. He summitted Cho Oyu ( 8201m ) in 1997. In 1998, shortly after returning from Everest, he contracted the rare nerve disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and was totally paralysed for many months. Now partially disabled in his right leg and left hand. His comeback climbs have included a successful 2-man, alpine-style ascent of the Polish Traverse on Aconcagua, leading the 2001 Singapore-Latin American Everest Tibet Expedition, and a lightweight attempt on two 8000m-peaks. He is author of Mountain to Climb, and Against Giants
Pete Steane – Australia. Hails from the island of Tasmania. In 1982 he sustained a rock-climbing accident where a piece of climbing equipment pierced his spine. He now lives with permanent nerve damage and walks and climbs with the help of two leg braces. A teached by profession, Pete has climbed on the rock faces of Yosemite National Park ( USA ) and in the New Zealand Alps.
Jamie Andrew – Scotland. An accomplished technical alpinist, he suffered severe frostbite when he was trapped by blizzard conditions near Chamonix in January 1999.He and friend Jamie Fisher became trapped 4000m up on the north face of the Droites in the Mont Blanc area. Rescuers were unable to get to them for several days and by the time they were eventually plucked off the ridge Jamie Fisher was dead. Doctors were forced to amputate Mr Andrew’s hands and feet which had been damaged beyond repair by the ravages of frostbite.
He became the first quadruple amputee to scale Ben Nevis in 2000.
Film Team:
Slackjaw Productions have been making films for six years mostly in the field of climbing and mountaineering. Their list of projects include the seminal Hard Grit, Stick It, Stone Love, Blood Sweat and Bagels, One Winter, Safety in Mountains, Meltdown – Crisis in the Himalaya and Splinter. In the process they have garnered eighteen awards on the International Mountan Film Festival Circuit. They have also sold footage and done free-lance work for many TV networks.
The Kilimanjaro film team comprises the director/videographer pair of Richard Heap (above) and Benedict Bevan-Pritchard (below)
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| Top: Pete Steane and Paul Pritchard in a Sep 13 feature for the Mercury newspaper. Photo by Raoul Kochanowski | Top: Dave Lim and Jamie Andrew meeting for the first time in Glasgow, Jul 2001 | Top: Look Mom! No hands or feet. Jamie showing how it’s done in the Swiss Alps. A spot of rock climbing in summer 2003. | Top: Hundreds of metres, high on the steep rock of EL Capitan (USA), the Slackjaw Productions team shows some lofty commitment to the ideal of filming climbing expeditions. |