Gold on Everest

[mariner]

Hi Guys,

Has anyone heard of this?

British mountaineer Kenton Cool has completed his mission to take an Olympic gold medal to the top of Mount Everest.

The medal was awarded to the 1922 British Everest expedition, who promised it'd be taken to the summit.

But the climbers never reached the top because there was a huge avalanche. So Kenton decided to honour the vow.

He said: "This promise needed keeping and after 90 years the pledge has been honoured for Britain."

"To stand on the summit for the 10th time is simply amazing," Kenton added. "To have with me an Olympic gold medal awarded to the 1922 team is humbling."

Am I right in thinking that the 1922 team where issued Gold Medals for mountain climbing, (I didn`t know there was such a thing in the Olympics), even though they didn`t make it to the summit?

Mariner.

[bigjarofwasps]

I don’t fully understand this myself, so may well be winging it here, but I think I’m right in saying that in 1924 Lt Col Strutt made a pledge that he would take one of the 1922 gold medals, issued to climbers for the 1922 Olympics. I assume that this is because they failed in the 22 attempt, so quite why they were issued golds I don’t know. Perhaps someone else can shine some light on that for us.

I wonder whether the whole point of taking a medal up there has something to do with the idea of taking the torch up there would be totally crazy, and at least this way Olympics have crossed the entire globe? Or maybe so that in some small way the 22 climbers did get to the summit, if not in person?

Edited May 27, 2012 by bigjarofwasps

[bigjarofwasps]

Found this........

On February 12, the full session of the International Olympic Committee formally recognized the International Federation of Sport Climbing, two years after the ISCF was granted provisional recognition. This means climbing now can compete with other sports for entry to the Olympic Games — the first test will come in 2013, when the sports for the 2020 games will be decided.

[bigjarofwasps]

Here we go....

This is the first time that climbing has been considered for inclusion in the Olympics, although mountaineering has been awarded medals in the past: the fourteen members of the 1922 Everest Expedition were awarded medals from the first Winter Olympic Games for ‘Alpine & Mixed Alpinism’, at the 1932 Los Angeles Games Franz and Schmidt gained medals for the 1st ascent of the North Face of the Matterhorn, Gunther & Hettie Dyhrenfurth were awarded gold for Karakorum mountaineering in 1936 and Messner and Kukcuzka silver medals at the Calgary winter games in 1988.

So it appears that the very thought that they gave it a crack, and got higher than anyone else, qualified them for gold. Everest wasn`t offically considered as having been conquered until 1953.

I wonder what you`d have to do to get gold in 2020, perhaps go up and down it as many times as you can during the 2 weeks, or perhaps do it the fastest? All of which is surely pushing the chance of death, above and beyond other sports, perhaps they`ll introduce a platinum medal for such events, a kind of Olympic VC...?

[mariner]

:cheers: The information regarding the medal being taken up Everest, is certainly very interesting .

Will also be interesting to see what the criteria is for winning medals in climbing, is coming 2020.

[aubagne98]

Hi,

the "prix olympique d´alpinism" was awarded three times. It was a part of the Olympic Art Competition which were held from 1912 - 1948 during the Summer Games.

http://olympic-museum.de/art/1924.htm

Some sources write that it was during the Winter Games. I really do not know when the Alpinism price was awarded, Winter or Summer.

All three were got a Gold medal.

1924 the Mount Everest group around the Leader Charles Granville Bruce (I remember once I read the group got Silver and only Bruce got Gold, but I just cannot find the source right now)

1932 the brothers Franz and Toni Schmid, Toni died 1932 in an alpinism accident before receiving the medal.

1936 Hettie and Günter Oskar Dyhrenfurth

They all received the same medals the athlets received.

 

Maybe later prices for Alpinism were awarded, but I do not know if the got Olympic medals.

According to the Art competitions, after 1948 they were hold beside the Games, but not awarded, since 2000 prices (but no olympic medals) are given.

 

Michael

[aubagne98]

On Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 21:30, bigjarofwasps said:

and Messner and Kukcuzka silver medals at the Calgary winter games in 1988.

Not a silver medal, it was the Olympic Order in silver.

 

Messner refused the order.