Simply reproduced is an exerpt from the Everest Peace Project website proclaiming victory as 10 people (including Israelis and Palestinians) reached the summit:
Some final thoughts (for now!) – and Thanks Everyone!
May 25th, 2006
Hi Everyone,
I can’t tell you how proud I am and how I have appreciated all the encouraging and positive emails and messages that we have received over the last several weeks. Thank you!
The Everest Peace Project was just a thought in one person’s mind almost four years ago and now it has become a global project that has affected, inspired, and touched people across the world. Millions of people have now heard about our mission of peace and cultural understanding. The EPP website has been viewed by people from two hundred different countries; there have been hundreds of news stories across the world – including feature stories in Israel and in UAE, which reached over five million people.
In my mind, success was just in getting everyone together at base camp – having just one person reach the summit would have been icing on the cake. However, The Everest Peace Project summitted ten people and we all have made it back to Kathmandu safely. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought we would summit so many. In a season that has seen a lot of tragedy we are very fortunate and blessed.
We made world history by assembling the most diverse Everest team ever – and had a summit push that consisted of Palestinian and Israeli men. Israeli David “Dudu” Yifrah – made a heroic and bold statement of peace when on the summit of Everest he unfolded a joint (sewn together) Israeli and Palestinian flag (see the picture on the site).
And it is not over…we have professionally filmed our Everest Climb for Peace and we will be making a full-length documentary film with the intention of having this shown all across the world. Stay tuned…!
I would like to first thank our heroic climbers and Sherpas who all risked their lives to prove an important point: that people from various faiths and cultures can work together cooperatively and accomplish amazing things and that in an atmosphere of peace and through friendship and teamwork anything can be done – and that even the tallest mountain in the world can be climbed.
I would also like to thank all of main financial sponsors:
Panasonic
Epson
Everest Technology Solutions
Jacada
The Camp
And our main individual sponsors:
Pete Richichi
Mark Princevalle
Rosalie Trumbull
Masa Maeda
Judy Chang
Gear and product sponsors:
Mountain Hardwear
The North Face
Trango
URI
Jansport
Thuraya
Alpine Aire Foods
Philips Environmental Products
ICP Solar
OR (Outdoor Research)
Princenton Tec
Easton
The Coleman Company (in association with ICP Solar)
Black Diamond
Dezart Cinematic
WebSideStory
Clif Bar
Aikimbo
OutdoorRetailer.com
Explorer’s Web
MountEverest.net
Thanks everyone for making this historic event become a reality!
From Kathmandu, Nepal
Love,
Lance Trumbull