Topic: Ben Clark

"Fresh Tracks" host Ben Clark is not only a favorite Plum host with good old Southern charm – he is also an accomplished mountaineer. In 2003, he became the youngest American to summit Mount Everest.

That expedition was captured by filmmaker and friend, Jon Miller, and made into a documentary, "Everest: The Other Side." He also helped video podcast his Everest adventures in a series called "The Rest of Everest."

For more details on his most recent expedition, in which he and partners Josh Butson and Tim Clarke attempted to climb and ski down Annapurna IV, check out his blog.

Talking Expeditions with Ben Clark

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In the latest of Plum TV host Ben Clark's colorful dispatches, he tells the ending of the Annapurna IV attempt and how he and his partner are now going to finish hiking the Annapurna circuit. Check his blog for the latest updates.

In the midst of summiting Annapurna IV, Ben Clark is now down one teammate but up at 20,000 feet. Here's his latest dispatch:

"We arrived in camp three today at 3 p.m. We are now in the high Himalaya at
20,000 feet and as wide-eyed and ready as ever. For what? Everything a
mountain can throw at you.

"Today was hard. Short, pumpy and physical. The snow and weather
is deteriorating on Annapurna IV's north ridge – and we are in the middle
of it – but safe.

Josh and I climbed out of camp 1 at 6 a.m., it was beginning to cloud up
below. As I lead a block – or pitches of snow, rock and ice – scrambling out
of camp, we were getting happy about moving. Things were frozen – our
greatest wish. As I neared 18,000 feet it became a struggle like a pebble
versus a stream, swimming through consistent hip deep
rotten snow. It was mind blowing even for a climber who spends all
summer wading through it in the San Juan mountains of Colorado.

An early morning approach of Annapurna IV.

Wondering what happened to Ben Clark and friends? Well, here's the latest udate from Ben Clark, Josh Butson and Tim Clarke, whose plan is to summit and ski down Annapurna IV. The three are posting blogs and audio dispatches on their website.

"Himalayan climbing is challenging,
pioneering in this great range is an even more daunting proposition.
The mountain has spoken to us, it is all around us, it is inside of us
as we melt and drink it to sustain ourselves. This is the awareness and
connection I come here for. It is not what everyone wants and feels.

If you've been wondering how Ben Clark and friends are doing on their trek up Annapurna IV, then wait no longer. Here's the latest of the colorful dispatches from Ben Clark:

"Twisting wisps of wind dance along the solemn northwest ridgeline of
Annapurna IV. Playfully the dance has drawn us in forcing us to
question, will the jet stream push away these little snow devils and
surge the ridgeline with the power of a hurricane or will we enter a
window of opportunity? We will be there to see, we begin the ascent
tomorrow.

Dwarfed by the massive peaks of the Himalayas lies the basecamp of Annapurna IV.

Here's the latest dispatch from Tellurider Ben Clark, who is ascending Annapurna IV:

"A long storm pattern is blanketing Annapurna IV with snow. Each hour
we hear thundering avalanches ripping down the north face. Eerily we
wake in the middle of the night as if a dumptruck just pulled into
camp. Annapurna IV is a dynamic mass, the same gravity that pulls at
its slopes is the same force that is our ticket to fun!