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Climber on Nepal mission

Griber's on his way to Khumbu on project to deliver high-level vision care to villagers.

By Michael Pearlman

John Griber's snowboard mountaineering expeditions have taken him from Alaska to Greenland, but a six-week trip to Nepal will place him in a supporting role in a medical project that will expand his climbing resume.

Griber departed from Jackson on Sunday for Nepal, where he will work as a cinematographer's assistant on an expedition that will offer sight-restoring surgery in remote Hi-malayan villages and include an attempt to scale a seldom-climbed Himalyan peak.

The expedition has been dubbed Light of the Himalayas and is a partnership between The North Face, Serac Adventure Films and a pair of nonprofits ­ the Himalayan Cataract Foundation and Global Giving.

Accompanied by a camera crew led by cinematographer Michael Brown, Griber and the rest of the team will visit the Tilganga Eye Center in Kathmandu as well as a remote cataract surgery camp near the Khumbu, a popular climbing region in Nepal. Dr. Geoff Tabin, founder of the Himalayan Cataract Foundation, and his protege, Dr. Sanduk Ruit, will perform cataract surgeries and offer high-level eye care to local villagers. The goal is to help 500 Nepalis recover their sight.

The film crew will be capturing high-definition footage of the doctors' work in the eye camps before continuing on to attempt an ascent of 21,128-foot Cholatse, a Himalayan peak that has seen few ascents. First climbed in 1984 by the late photographer Galen Rowell with Vern Clevenger, John Rowell and Bill O'Connor, Cholatse is a fluted snow peak that offers challenging lines, ice fall danger and tricky route-finding on an exposed summit ridge. By accepting donations for each foot the team climbs, the expedition hopes to raise additional money to support Tabin and Ruit's work in the eye camps.

After the two- to three-week climb, the team and camera crew will return to the eye camps to film the surgical bandages being removed and record the reactions of the patients. It is expected to be an emotionally-charged expedition for everyone involved, and Griber says that element has made him even more enthusiastic about the journey.

"I'm a lot more psyched on this trip because we have a focus," Griber said. "It's a more exciting twist to an expedition because we're going somewhere where we're trying to make a difference."

In addition to Griber, Brown and the doctors, the team includes Pete Athans, who has summited Everest seven times, and North Face team athletes Conrad Anker, Kevin Thaw and Abbey Watkins. Outside magazine senior editor Nick Heil and still photographers Kris Erickson and Ace Kvale will also travel with the team to tell the story in print.

"Pete and Conrad have a true history of being there for so long, and this is a way for them to bring something back to this culture," Griber said. "We're all really excited about the opportunity to go over there and help these people."

Griber's last trip to Nepal in the fall of 2003 ended disastrously when he came down with high-altitude pulmonary edema during an attempt to climb and snowboard Cho Oyu, the sixth-highest mountain in the world. He'll be climbing with a 35-pound camera instead of a snowboard this time, but he says his chief goal on this trip is learn more about the art of outdoor filmmaking.

"I've got this desire to learn film now," Griber said. "I'm trying to leverage my experience in the mountains and on the athletes' side of the film and translate that into a film career specializing in the mountains."

Griber's education will come from Brown, a renowned adventure filmmaker who has been to the summit of Mount Everest three times. Brown directed Everest: Farther than the Eye can See, a documentary about blind Everest summitter Eric Weihenmayer.

Ten of Brown's films have been finalists in the Banff Mountain Film Festival, and he has been nominated for five National Sports Emmy Awards.

Those interested in making a donation to the humanitarian expedition can visit www.globalgiving.com for information. Regular updates on the expedition and the team's progress on Cholatse will be posted at www.thenorthface.com.
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