For Immediate Release

CLIMBING EVEREST:  OF GLOBAL INTEREST CELEBRATES ITS 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Ann Arbor, Michigan - March 29, 2010

In celebration of Of Global Interest Adventure Travel's 10th year leading tours trekking in the Himalayas in Nepal, tour operator, Heather O'Neal, has invited her business partner, Pem Dorjee Sherpa and his wife, Moni, to Ann Arbor in May to speak at the Kerrytown Concert House about their Everest expedition in 2005.  At the summit that year, at 29,028 feet, these two climbers held their wedding on top of the world. Today the couple lives in Colorado.

Heather O'Neal started her company offering tours to Nepal in 2000.  Her love for this part of the world began in 1986 during her junior year abroad in Kathmandu through the University of Wisconsin.  Twelve years later, on her first trip back, she met Pem Dorjee Sherpa.  Heather and her friend hired him to be their porter while trekking.

"He was adorable, a village boy.  He didn't speak a word of English.  Growing up in the mountains he had never seen a car before in his life!" Heather says.  They trekked together for two weeks through the mountains to the top of Kalipathar at 18,300 feet where beyond the glacier was Mt. Everest in all its glory.

"Pem was so good to us on that trip," Heather says.  "I knew then that he was capable of amazing things.  I knew I wanted to work with him.  In my broken Nepali I told him I would start a tour company, and I wanted him to be my guide.  He agreed!"

Since that time, Heather and Pem have worked together offering tours to Nepal twice a year.  In total they have taken 38 Americans on 17 separate trips in the past ten years.  While operating her bed and breakfast in Ann Arbor, Heather has also led trips to Spain and the Grand Canyon.

"It is so special that Pem will visit in May.  He has led a truly amazing life," Heather says.  In 2004, Pem climbed Mt. Everest for the first time as a climbing Sherpa.  This was a well paying job for a villager, however, Pem was responsible for carrying loads up to 60kg of tents, oxygen tanks, food, and supplies for Western climbers.

In 2005 Pem climbed Everest a second time with the Rotary team in celebration of their 100th year anniversary.  They carried a Rotary flag to the summit - another successful expedition.  A few months later, Rotary International invited Pem and his team to present this flag to the Rotary anniversary celebration at the McCormick Place Expo Center in Chicago.  "I could hardly believe my eyes watching 40,000 Rotarians from around the world cheer for Pem," Heather says.  This was Pem's first visit to America.

Pem's wedding was also part of that expedition.  He and his climbing partner, Moni Mulepati, tied the knot at the summit on May 30, 2005, at 29,028 feet.  Moni is the fifth Nepalese woman to climb Mt. Everest and the first non-Sherpa Nepalese woman to climb Everest.  In a very traditional country, she has become a hero for many young women in Nepal, inspiring them to dream large and achieve their goals.

Friday, May 21, 8PM
CLIMBING EVEREST:  OF GLOBAL INTEREST CELEBRATES ITS 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Everest climbers, Pem Dorjee Sherpa and his wife Moni, were married on the summit of the world's highest snowcapped peak, Mt. Everest, at 29,028 feet.  Pem and Moni will take you on their 2005 world-news-making adventure via large screen DVD.  Local tour operator, Heather O'Neal, will discuss trekking in the High Himalayas.  She leads Of Global Interest Adventure Travel, which is celebrating its 10th year.  Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 8PM, $10 suggested donation.

http://www.kerrytownconcerthouse.com/index.php/events/event/climbing_everest/