Russell Brice

Russell Reginald Brice (born 3 July 1952) is a New Zealand mountaineer. He is also the owner/manager of Himalayan Experience Ltd.,[1] a climbing expedition company. He has summited Cho Oyu seven times, Himal Chuli and Mount Everest twice, as well as Manaslu in October 2010, which was his 14th summit of an 8000 m peak.

Career

Brice first went to Everest in 1974 as part of Edmund Hillary's Himalayan Trust. His first attempt to climb the mountain was in 1981.[2] In 1988, Brice and Harry Taylor were the first climbers to successfully climb The Three Pinnacles on Everest's Northeast Ridge.[3] Brice reached the summit of Everest on 29 May 1997 and again on 25 May 1998.[4]

He is best known for leading the 2006, 2007, and 2009 expeditions on Everest which were filmed by the Discovery Channel for three seasons of a series titled Everest: Beyond the Limit.[5] The series touts Brice's experience, weather savvy, and professionalism compared to other groups on the mountain.[6] Following the first season, Brice became part of a controversy over the death of climber David Sharp, who was found in a weakened state high on the mountain by Brice's climbers; footage of Sharp was filmed, but he was deemed impossible to save and left to die.[7][8][9][10] In the series, Brice estimates that 80% of his "mates" have died during his climbing career.[9]

In 2012, Brice's clients each paid his company €43,000 to climb Mount Everest.[11] Due to his concerns about dangerous conditions, Brice pulled all of his guides, clients, and Sherpas off Mount Everest, and his company's reputation was damaged due to perceptions that he was overreacting.[11] During the 2013 season, Brice was involved in brokering an agreement between Sherpas and Western climbers after disputes broke out on the mountain.[2]

Brice also used to own Chamonix Experience,[12] based in Chamonix in the French Alps, and Mountain Experience, based in Nepal.[13]

Films

Brice's expertise has been used for a number of filming projects in the Himalaya, including as location manager for the film The Wildest Dream (2010), the story of George Mallory and the expedition to locate his body which was discovered by Conrad Anker.[14]

Brice's expertise has also been used for filming logistics for the series Planet Earth and the film Touching the Void (2003).

Brice is a central figure in the documentary Sherpa (2015), which recounts events surrounding the 2014 Mount Everest ice avalanche.[15]

Personal life

Brice is a founding member and board member of Friends of Humanity, a Geneva-based non-profit organization.[16] In 1991, he was project co-ordinator for the 'Balloon Over Everest Expedition', successfully flying two hot air balloons over Everest.[17]

Russell married Jennifer Norris in January 2020 in Canberra, Australia.

Filmography

See also

References
  1. "About Us". Himalayan Experience Official Site. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  2. Douglas, Ed (26 June 2013). "Everest fight: the Sherpa side of the story". The BMC. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  3. "Russell Brice - Guides". Himalayan Experience. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  4. Messner, Reinhold (2014). Everest: Expedition to the Ultimate. Vertebrate Publishing. ISBN 9781910240212.
  5. "Mount Everest climb carries hefty price tag". CBC News. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  6. Stewart, Susan (14 November 2006). "Why Climb a Mountain? It's There, and It's Hard to Do". New York Times. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  7. "The most shameful act in the history of mountaineering: "Everest: Beyond the limit" airs Tuesday". ExplorersWeb. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
  8. "Mt. Everest: David Sharp". Mt. Everest: David Sharp - YouTube. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
  9. "I Did Not Leave a Climber to Die On Everest ... He was Beyond Saving". Mirror. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  10. "My name is David Sharp and I am with Asian Trekking". everestnews. 2006. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  11. Krakauer, Jon (21 April 2014). "Death and Anger on Everest". The New Yorker. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  12. "Our founder - Russell Brice". Chamex.com.
  13. "About Us". Mountain Experience.
  14. Roberts, David (May 2008). "Conrad Anker on Everest: In the Footsteps of Mallory & Irvine". National Geographic. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  15. Holbrooke, David (24 March 2016). "The Real Stories of Mt Everest's Sherpas". Bloomberg. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  16. "Russell Brice". Friends of Humanity.
  17. Heil, Nick (2008). Dark Summit: The Extraordinary True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season. Random House. ISBN 9780753515945.
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