Another update from The West Australian on the eve of Michael's departure.
Stay on top with The West
by Jennifer Curtis
A Perth man who hopes to become the first WA-born climber to reach the summit of Mt Everest flies to Kathmandu today (Thursday) where he will join an international expedition. For 34-year-old Michael Dunjey of Manning the adventure represents more than ten-years of dreaming, planning and rigorous training.
“It’s hard to know if I’m ready. Hopefully I’ll be able to answer that question positively in May when all things going well I should summit Mt Everest,” he said.
“I’m not nervous at this stage as I guess I’ve been so busy in the lead up to it it’s taken my mind off the big event but I’m sure when I get on the plane things will get a bit nervy then. I think about half-way through the ten-day trek into base camp you start to be able to see the mountain in the distance so I think that’s when the whole team will get particularly excited.”
Mr Dunjey and the rest of his team from Adventure Consultants will travel to Lukla from Kathmandu to begin the trek to Everest base camp. He will spend approximately four-weeks acclimatizing and resting before pushing for the summit during the third week of May. Follow Mr Dunjey’s progress up Mt Everest in The West Australian which will be providing weekly updates, diary extracts and photographs.
See the article here.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
The West Australian Update 31 March 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Michael's International Team:
Introducing Adventure Consultants
Michael has left Perth and is on his way to join an international expedition led by the team at Adventure Consultants.
Adventure Consultants are a team of extremely capable and experienced guides who specialise in high altitude climbs. Michael will be part of a small group, with numbers intentionally restricted to help the expedition run smoothly. Adventure Consultants maintain a high standard of medical back up, high quality expedition resources (including communications & weather forecasting technology) and excellent catering for strength and nutrition. Travelling with such a respected team of guides will give Michael every opportunity to summit. Now it comes down to his years of preparation and the weather!
You can track Michael's progress via the Adventure Consultants Everest 2007 dispatch page here.
Expedition Staff
Expedition Leader - Guy Cotter (NZ)
Assistant Guides - Mike Roberts (NZ),Luis Benitez (USA), Mark Sedon (NZ) and Ang Dorjee Sherpa (Nepal/USA)
Team Members
Frank Slachman (USA)
Baxter Gillespie (USA)
Michael Dunjey (AUS)
Andrea Moore (NZ/UK)
Chuck McGibbon (USA)
Cedric Hayden (USA)
Dave Arnett (USA)
Sebastien Glorie (BEL)
Chris Burrows (USA)
Post Your Messages For Michael Here
Michael's going to be checking in here from Mt Everest. To make it easy for him to find your well-wishes, post them here. Think of it as Base Camp for your encouraging sentiments...
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Media Release:
Dunjey Departs Perth For Everest Summit
Tomorrow morning (29 March), Michael Dunjey will fly from Perth to Kathmandu, where he will join an international expedition in his attempt to become the first WA-born climber to summit Mt Everest.
The summit attempt represents over ten years of dreaming, planning and rigorous training for the 34-year-old Manning resident.
“With just one day to go before I leave Australia I’m pretty excited,” said Dunjey. “It’s hard to know if I’m ready. Hopefully I’ll be able to answer that question positively in mid-May when I should summit Mt Everest, all things going well.”
Dunjey will fly from Perth to Kathmandu where he will join his team from Adventure Consultants. From there the team travels to Lukla to commence the trek to Everest Base Camp. Michael will spend around 4 weeks acclimatising and resting before pushing for the summit between May 13 – 25.
Track Michael’s progress with regular updates from this website and in weekly updates in The West Australian newspaper.
Please direct media enquiries to:
Brad Birt | Michael Dunjey Everest Ascent 2007 | M 0403-314-502
Monday, March 26, 2007
A Message From Michael
Greetings everyone
First of all apologies to those I have not written individual messages to in a while. My day to day has been hectic and frantic getting ready for one of the biggest trips of my life. So for those I have not contacted recently, this is to let you know I am off to Everest on Thursday morning.
This of course is something I have been dreaming of, training for and planning for a very long time. Am I ready? Who knows. That question will be answered around mid May when all going well, I will be on the summit attempt. What I do know is that I can’t see any other time in my life that will be better suited to giving this mountain some sort of reasonable challenge.
The basic itinerary is as follows:
• March 30 | Arrive Kathmandu. Begin gear checks. Team briefing.
• March 31 | Final gear checks
• April 1 | Fly to Lukla
• April 1 – 9 | Trek to Base Camp
• April 10 – May 4 | Establish camps and acclimitise.
• May 5 – 12 | Rest at Base Camp or lower down the valley
• May 13 – 25 | Summit Climb
• May 26 – 27 | Depart Base Camp
• May 27 – June 1 | Trek to Lukla
You can stay up to date with happenings on The Hill at this website, which will be updated a couple of times a week. It's hoped people will leave messages of support here as I'll be reading these regularly on The Hill. The other site to check is the climbing team site, which you can find here. This site will be particularly good on the summit push when it will be updated approximately every 15 minutes.
For the climbers out there, I finally made the decision to go with Adventure Consultants – a New Zealand team. It was a hard decision. My loyalties had lay with a British team Jagged Globe - that I had been with on three previous expeditions. But for Everest I felt the New Zealand team would suit me better. There are 9 climbers on the team. Five Americans, one New Zealander, an English girl, a Belgian and finally me the only Australian. The guides are all New Zealanders.
For everyone who has messaged me in the past month, I want to thank you very much for your support. I am just sorry I have not been able to get back to each of you individually.
One final big thank you to my awesome wife Aimee. She has been unbelievable with her patience and support of my pursuits. I look forward to seeing her and everybody else in approximately ten weeks.
Bye for now
Michael
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Sponsors:
Wesley College
We're pleased to announce that Michael's alma mater, Wesley College, has added their support to the growing list of sponsors aligning themselves with Team Dunjey.
Michael attended secondary school at Wesley College from 1986 to 1990. He represented Wesley in athletics and cross country where the foundations of the fitness required for an ascent such as this were laid.
We welcome Wesley College and the Old Wesley Collegians' Association and thank them sincerely for their support.
Wesley College
Coode Street
South Perth
Phone: (08) 9368 8000
Contact: Judy Greaney
Email: jgreaney@wesley.wa.edu.au
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Sponsors:
Belmont Chiropractic
Training and climbing is physical. So we're particularly happy to welcome Belmont Chiropractic, who have aligned themselves with Team Dunjey as sponsors.
Belmont Chiropractic have been helping people put the pieces together to enjoy healthier and more robust lives for ages. Their website is coming soon, but they'll be more than happy to straighten you out if you contact them.
Belmont Chiropractic
203 Wright Street
Cloverdale
Phone: (08) 9478-1777
Email: belchiro@iinet.net.au
