Here you will find articles about The Wilde Foundation or Wilde on Everest 2010. Thanks to all the many supporters!
Various Print and TV News from WRAL in North Carolina:
Article and interview after completing the 7 summits:
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/8616424/
Interview from Base Camp:
http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/7599508/
Full transcript of interview unedited:
http://www.wral.com/news/local/noteworthy/video/7597485/#/vid7597485
First press coverage:
http://www.wral.com/news/local/noteworthy/story/7588072/
Everest News
http://www.everestnews.com/everest2010/everestwilde03092010.htm
James Wilde new challenge is for Everest ! Wilde’s 2010 Everest climb will be with a team that he knows and a route that is familiar, but the end of his ascent will be a feat that he did not accomplish when he ascended the mountain in 2005. Wilde’s route from Kathmandu to Tibet will take approximately 70 days via the North Side of Tibet.
If Wilde is successful on this 2010 climb, he is planning on climbing the last of the Seven Summits, Kosciuszko or Carstenz Pyramid–a choice based on the differences in consideration of Oceana as a continent. Wilde views this follow-up climb as an easier adventure as the size of these peaks are half the elevation of Everest.
The 2005 Everest climb ended for Wilde as he turned back because of altitude sickness and exhaustion. Wilde does not complain about his experience, however, as he reflects on a climb that ultimately claimed the life of his friend.
Wilde’s 2010 Everest climb will also have an additional impact as his newly established Wilde Foundation, an international, non-profit humanitarian organization founded in July 2009, focuses on creating sanitation facilities, safe water supplies, and hygiene-related facilities in developing countries for rural villagers.
Technician, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
http://www.technicianonline.com/news/graduate-starts-non-profit-to-provide-clean-water-1.2178558
Graduate starts non-profit to provide clean water
Former N.C. State student launches global non-profit organization providing water to thousands
By Caitlin Barrett, Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Updated: Wednesday, March 3, 2010
James Wilde, an N.C. State graduate, has just started a global non-profit organization called Global H2O to provide clean drinking water to those around the world in need.
Wilde became interested in clean water issues during a trip to Tibet, where he got dysentery.
“I had seen water issues but never really experienced it,” Wilde said.
Wilde said after he began to research clean water crises around the world he was struck by the startling facts.
According to Wilde over three million people die from water-related issues each year and one in eight people are affected globally.
Wilde said clean water has a massive impact on rural villages. Since people have a close source of clean water, they do not run the risk of being infected by diseases from contaminated water and children no longer have to walk hours through dangerous areas to gather dirty water and can spend time in school and less time being sick.
Hallie Spears, a freshman in the first year college, said we don’t know these problems exist because of how much we take for granted.
“The clean water movement is so important and needs to be taken seriously,” she said. “We as Americans often do not realize that this problem exists because we are fortunate. We all need to be more gracious of what we have and donate so that others are able to have a better quality of life.”
Wilde was offered $10,000 for an Everest climb from a software company if he followed their stipulations: he had to use the software to start a non-profit organization. That’s when he put his knowledge of water pollution to use and generated the idea of Global H2O.
Wilde said he realized by drilling wells in rural areas clean drinking water could be accessed easily by locals, eliminating the risks associated with polluted water.
Elizabeth Covington, a sophomore in economics, said this is a great way to approach the issue.
“I think this is a major issue in our world today and I think this is an awesome way to solve it,” Covington said.
With initial help from various companies, Global H2O has recently constructed its first well in the Kitgum district of northern Uganda which will supply approximately 1,000 people with clean water.
According to United Nations estimates a $20 donation could provide one person with water for life and the return on the investment is more than eight fold.
“I think its a great idea and very eye opening.” Adam Craven, a freshman in civil engineering, said.
Wilde had initially saved up funds for a trip to Everest, but then committed all of it to get The Wilde Foundation and Global H2O up and running and has since developed relationships with drillers in many poor countries, including Haiti.
Robert Guillot, a sophomore in history, said Wilde’s efforts have made him more aware of the value of water.
“This has made me realize how something such as water is extremely precious to many people. Now that Global H20 is able to provide thousands of people with fresh, clean water at limited expense I think we all should band together and support this noble cause.” Guillot said.
Wilde is also working on projects to bring clean water to schools and hospitals across the world. He is in the process of starting internships for schools around the nation, including N.C. State, where students would start a marketing project for Global H2O. They would plan the production of a well, decide where to put it, organize a campaign to raise the necessary funds, and see their project through all the way to completion.
For more information on Global H20 visit globalh2o.org. For information regarding internships email James Wilde at james@globalh2o.org.
From News & Observer:
Raleigh native forms H2O
nonprofit
James Wilde has long been an outdoors enthusiast, but now the Raleigh native is trying to use his love of the environment to help with a bigger cause.
Wilde, 39, has formed a nonprofit group called Global H2O to help povide fresh water to people in areas of the world where it is not easily accessible.
Originally funded with money Wilde was collecting for a trip to Mount Everest, Global H2O has just completed its first project, putting in a well for people in the Kitgum district of Northern Uganda. The cost of that project, according to the group’s Web site: about $15,000.
Now Global H2O is planning to ramp up fund-raising efforts and continue working on new projects, including possibly some in Haiti. So far, Global H2O has received support from many local businesses, including Sage software, The Great Outdoor Provision Co. and Modry Design Studio of NC.
Raleigh native continues quest to
climb Mount Everest
By: Tyler Dukes, News14.com
The summit of Everest looms in the reflection of James Wilde’s goggles. Photo courtesy of James Wilde
RALEIGH – Standing inside a darkened section of the Outdoor Provision Company Wednesday, James Wilde had the attention of a small crowd of about 20 people.
They were there to hear about Wilde’s quest to become a veteran of some of the tallest spaces on earth.
It’s not like most of them hadn’t heard this before. Sitting among the sprinkling of budding adventurers and captivated shoppers were Wilde’s family and friends, who for the past eight years have heard tales of his exploits.
The Raleigh native even acknowledged his fraternity brothers from N.C. State in the crowd, and recalls when they “stood in front of Food Lion with cans collecting change” for various charities.
As the 39-year-old recounted his summit of Europe’s Mount Elbrus and his success at Denali, his low voice competed with the sounds of cooing and fidgeting from his friends’ children, several of whom where lolling around on the creaky wooden floor. But while his friends continue to raise families and pursue careers, Wilde is planning new adventure – a quest to fight disease and environmental degradation while joining the ranks of those who’ve set foot on the seven highest peaks of the world.
He’s bringing out the can for charity again, but this time, he won’t be shaking it outside a grocery store. His goal is to raise money from the top of the planet’s tallest mountain – Mount Everest.
Return to the mountain
Wilde is no stranger to Everest. The 30,000-foot mass of limestone and marble took its toll on him in 2005, forcing him to turn back after suffering from exhaustion and altitude sickness. The decision wasn’t made lightly. When one of Wilde’s Slovenian teammates didn’t return from a summit attempt, climbers later found him frozen to death just short of the peak.
Quest for Everest
• See more photos at Wilde on Everest 2010
• Follow the journey on Facebook
“You start to realize that the mountain doesn’t care,” Wilde said in an interview in the summer of 2005, shortly after returning from his failed summit attempt. “Everest just tolerates you for a while.”
But despite the challenges of exposure, mountain sickness and conditions like pulmonary edema, Mount Everest has become more accessible since the first ascent by Edmund Hillary in 1953. By a few routes, climbers can reach Base Camp at 17,700 feet by simply driving.
Safety has changed as well. In addition to the technological upgrades to tent material, safety gear and climbing equipment, there have also been less obvious changes to the nature of climbing.
“When [Mountaineer George] Mallory went up, they didn’t have zippers,” he said. “Imagine going up Everest in coats with buttons.”
Even in the four years since he began his summit attempt, Wilde said there have been multiple developments that make the still-perilous trek easier on climbers. A Chinese company, for example, has installed a cell phone tower at Base Camp, eliminating the potential for loneliness many climbers feel as they spend days acclimating to the altitude and frigid temperatures.
“I remember the phone bill being $2,000 to $3,000 because of satellite phone calls,” Wilde said. “Now you can pull out your cell phone and call mom for $1 a minute.”
But humanity’s progress up the mountain’s slope has caused its share of problems. Tents, equipment and human waste litter the cols and ridges in many places. For many climbers worn to the breaking point by the altitude and a lack of oxygen, littering isn’t a top priority.
“[The mountains are] drawing a lot of people to them and they’re becoming less pristine,” Wilde said. “Everest is certainly not pristine.”
He said those practices are starting to change. Sherpas working on Everest, for example, can get paid by carting down trash and unneeded gear. Wilde took advantage of that in 2005 when, broken and exhausted, he paid a sherpa $150 to bring down three empty oxygen bottles to save weight.
Climbing for a cause
What he saw on Everest, as well as some of his other expeditions to climb the Seven Summits, started Wilde thinking about how people impact their environment.
“I came back from Everest and Aconcagua with a good appreciation for how trashed those places are,” he said.
He already climbed to benefit muscular dystrophy. The cause has been close to him since his college Kappa Alpha days, when he and fellow members raised money to fight the progressive muscle disease.
But characteristic of the restlessness he’s exhibited since childhood, Wilde was looking for something else to champion. Two relatively unconnected issues in particular piqued his interest – water quality and the protection of endangered species.
How to help
In July, he left his telecom job in Moscow to establish the nonprofit Wilde Foundation. Only about two weeks old, Wilde said donations to the foundation will fund programs for endangered species “that aren’t getting enough attention.” The other portion will finance projects to provide clean drinking water – a necessity he’s seen lacking throughout his travels.
“When you go to Tibet and Nepal, you see clean water issues,” he said. “If you go to Russia, you can’t drink the water out of the faucets.”
He said funding these projects in underdeveloped communities can have an immediate impact on people’s greater health outlook. For many communities in Africa, he pointed out, people die of cholera before they ever have to worry about sexually transmitted diseases.
“If your life expectancy is 35 to 40 years old and you’re 20, contracting AIDS isn’t going to bring the end of life any closer,” Wilde said. “[Long-term diseases] don’t cross people’s minds because of early deaths.”
But Wilde acknowledges that his mountain climbing expeditions aren’t exclusively altruistic.
“The climbing bit to me is a selfish thing. But I’m using something I love to generate interest in things I’m interested in changing,” he said.
He’s giving himself one last chance to summit Everest. If he succeeds, it’ll be smooth sailing to the last of the Seven Summits (either Kosciuszko or the Carstenz Pyramid, depending on whether you count Oceania as a continent). Both peaks are less than half the elevation of Everest and a quick hike, at least by Wilde’s standards. He hopes to share champagne with supporters on the completion of his quest at the top of the last peak.
But if he fails again, it’s over. That gives Wilde pause.
Sitting in a Cameron Village deli on a scorching, sticky day in July, Wilde, in jeans and a T-shirt, was about as far as he could be from Everest. But his steel blue eyes drifted off at the possibility of another defeat.
He says there are measures of success. Coming down alive with all appendages, for example, shouldn’t necessarily be considered a failure.
If he doesn’t make it, it’s not likely he’ll stop climbing. It definitely won’t mean an end to his adventuring.
But he acknowledges that some things are physiologically impossible, some things his 5 foot 9 inch, 150 pound frame might not be able to do.
He hopes this isn’t one of them.
The reason, as he explains to the small crowd hearing, one more time, the story of his quest, is not difficult to understand.
“You’re walking around where transatlantic flights are flying.”
