"Old is never old," Hanna told MountainZone.com from his home in Chicago. "But when it comes to climbing Everest, old is definitely old. Forty-five days of climbing from Base Camp through Camp IV leaves the body battered, bruised and aching. And I went from 140 to 125 pounds in weight.

"So on May 25, my attempt to climb the last 2,000 feet of Everest was a lasting lesson that legs at age 72 are not like those at 20, or even 50. Having been sick about a month before the summit attempt, I was just unable to muster the final energy to push my legs—particularly my knees—up that mountain.".

"But I will never regret for a moment having tried for the fourth time to reach the summit. My love for the high, lonely places in far distant lands was intensified by my last and final attempt to climb that mountain. God was with me, and brought me safely home. But that's the final chapter. When I got home I admitted to my wife and children and associates at Mid-North Financial Services that that's enough.

"And while there was a definite feeling of disappointment turning back at 27,000 feet," Hanna concluded, "I was again humbled by the dedication and professionalism of Vern Tejas of Alpine Ascents, Bryce Brown, our climbing doctor, and the Sherpas whose support made my safe descent possible. The climb was a physical, mental and emotional strain, but it renewed my strength of character as it was a personally rewarding effort. Having again tried and returned safely leaves me a stronger person."

The rest of the summit team, including eight Westerners and nine Sherpa, continued up from the South Col toward the Southeast Ridge.

"We were lucky to have good, clear weather, with no wind," Prittie said. "We had to work hard though, as there was very strenuous trailbreaking, thigh-deep snow. Our team was glad to see Pete Athans, Peter Hillary and Brent Bishop of the National Geographic team move up and take a turn at trailbreaking."

"I was a little concerned when we approached the South Summit," Prittie continued. "The wind picked up a bit, enough for a substantial cloud plume off the summit. And clouds filled the valleys below and it looked like they might creep up. I was concerned our weather window might be closing. But everything just stabilized, and we had an unreal summit day.

"We ended up with a superb views, best I've ever seen. Makalu of course is right there, but even Kangch (Kangchenchunga) seemed close. It was so clear we could even see Manaslu, and you don't usually see Manaslu. What a day for an Everest summit. Many in our party spent an hour on top. And our descent back to Camp IV was totally uneventful, and believe me, that's the way you want it." [click here for the first of the summit-day dispatches]

"We were lucky," said guide Vern Tejas, who flew from Nepal immediately after descending Everest and is now guiding on Denali. "Weather, health and conditions all conspired to make this a very successful trip. It was a great bunch of people."

Other notable successes this year included Pete Athans, who reached to top of Everest for the seventh time, the most summits of any non-Sherpa climber. Athans was climbing with Peter Hillary, son of Sir Edmund Hillary, who made the first ascent of the peak in 1953, and Brent Bishop, the son of Barry Bishop, who climbed Everest during the 1963 American expedition.

Athans, Hillary and Bishop were climbing for a National Geographic film commemorating the 50th anniversary of the British first ascent of Everest by Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, and the 40th anniversary of the first American ascent of the mountain in 1963 (the year Jim Whittaker and Gombu repeated the South Col route, followed Tom Hornbein's and Willi Unsoeld's historic first traverse of the peak when they climbed the West Ridge and descended the South Col route).

Brent Bishop, who first climbed Everest in 1995 with Scott Fischer, had originally hoped to climb the West Ridge, but time and conditions made that impossible. The party was on the summit at the same time the Alpine Ascents team was there; Peter Hillary called his famous father from the mountaintop he was the first to reach.

One significant event that largely escaped attention was the success of Ellen Miller, 43, of Vail, Colorado, who became the first North American to summit from both the north side (Tibet) and the south side (Nepal), back-to-back, when she reached the top via the South Col route on May 16. There are only four women that have reached the summit twice, and two of them are Sherpani.

"There were a few less teams than the last few seasons, but the route on the mountain was pretty much on par with other years," said Bill Crouse, lead guide on Miller's climb. "The season was a bit compressed, with only two major summit windows. Even though we hit a record for people reaching the summit from the Southeast Ridge in one day there was no drama. Everyone climbed well and patiently to get that tremendous view. The descent didn't have crowds or delays, as the teams really didn't get concentrated at any point on the route. A brilliant clear night of shooting stars, a peaceful sunrise showing the curve of the earth with the first slivers of light, and warmth through the day. One to be remembered for sure."

For Miller, it was her second summit within the year. "I wanted to summit Everest from both Tibet and Nepal because I wanted to have a very clear understanding of both routes on the mountain," Miller told MountainZone.com, "because I'm writing a book about women climbing Everest. As far as reaching the summit twice in one year (May 23, 2001 and May 16, 2002) I was simply blessed with good weather, and superb expedition leadership."

— Peter Potterfield, MountainZone.com Staff

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