For Andrew Hughes and his climbing crew, the high spot tea party conveyed a completely new meaning.
Digital Desk: Last year, a group of adventurers staged a tea party at Mount Everest's Camp 2 in Nepal, setting a new 'Guinness World Record for the highest tea party ever held,' officially recognized by Guinness this month.
Hughes, a self-described high-endurance athlete from Seattle, Washington, said the tea party concept came to him early in the pandemic before Covid-19 travel restrictions and shutdowns made trips impossible. The isolation, he added, made him realize that he missed the community more than the summits.
"The greatest things in life are often shared," Hughes said, adding that he believes the feat, which will take place on May 5, 2021, would "inspire others to pursue their aspirations, no matter how lofty they may be."
Hughes' "highest of high tea parties" "surpassed the previous standard by thousands of feet in altitude and was full of complexity, including delivering supplies via the hazardous Khumbu Icefalls," according to a news release.
One of the additional challenges was a big snowfall on the planned tea party, caused by a massive storm; another issue was managing the logistics of carrying the extra goods, including Girl Scout cookies transported from Seattle up Mount Everest.
According to the announcement, the supplies had to withstand flying worldwide, being hauled to base camp on a yak and then carried in backpacks across the barren landscape, which featured frozen waterfalls, to Camp 2 without the cookies turning crumbles.
The extra work paid off in the end. "The record will eternally immortalize an extraordinary time and experience in my life," Hughes expressed after an unsuccessful attempt in 2019. Hughes went on to reach the peak of Everest around two weeks later.
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