Russell Reginald Brice (born 3 July 1952) is a New Zealand
mountaineer
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...
. He was the owner/manager of
Himex
Himex is a Mount Everest guiding company. It was founded in 1996 by New Zealander Russell Brice. The name is a truncated version of the full name "Himalayan Experience". ''National Geographic'' said Himex was the "largest and most sophisticated ...
(Himalayan Experience Ltd.),
a climbing expedition company. He has summited
Cho Oyu seven times,
Himal Chuli and
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...
twice, as well as
Manaslu
Manaslu ( ne, मनास्लु, also known as Kutang; muh-NAA-slu) is the eighth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. The name Man ...
in October 2010, which was his 14th summit of an 8000 m peak.
Career
Brice first went to Everest in 1974 as part of
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reache ...
's
Himalayan Trust
The Himalayan Trust is an international non-profit humanitarian organisation first established in the 1960s by Sir Edmund Hillary, who led the trust until his death in 2008. The Himalayan Trust aims to improve the health, education and general wel ...
. His first attempt to climb the mountain was in 1981.
[ In 1988, Brice and Harry Taylor were the first climbers to successfully climb The Three Pinnacles on Everest's Northeast Ridge. Brice reached the summit of Everest on 29 May 1997 and again on 25 May 1998.
He is best known for leading the 2006, 2007, and 2009 expeditions on Everest which were filmed by the Discovery Channel for three seasons of a series titled '' Everest: Beyond the Limit.'' The series touts Brice's experience, weather savvy, and professionalism compared to other groups on the mountain. Following the first season, Brice became part of a controversy over the death of climber David Sharp, who was found in a weakened state high on the mountain by Brice's climbers; footage of Sharp was filmed, but he was deemed impossible to save and left to die.] In the series, Brice estimates that 80% of his "mates" have died during his climbing career.[
In 2012, Brice's clients each paid his company €43,000 to climb Mount Everest.] Due to his concerns about dangerous conditions, Brice pulled all of his guides, clients, and Sherpas off Mount Everest, and his company's reputation was damaged due to perceptions that he was overreacting.[ During the 2013 season, Brice was involved in brokering an agreement between Sherpas and Western climbers after disputes broke out on the mountain.]
Brice also used to own Chamonix Experience, based in Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...
in the French Alps
The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as ...
, and Mountain Experience, based in Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
.
Films
Brice's expertise has been used for a number of filming projects in the Himalaya, including as location manager for the film ''The Wildest Dream
''The Wildest Dream'' is a 2010 theatrical-release feature documentary film about the British climber George Mallory who disappeared on Mount Everest in 1924 with his climbing partner Andrew Irvine. The film interweaves two stories, one about clim ...
'' (2010), the story of George Mallory
George Herbert Leigh Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s.
Born in Cheshire, Mallory became a student at Winchest ...
and the expedition to locate his body which was discovered by Conrad Anker
Conrad Anker (born November 27, 1962) is an American rock climber, mountaineer, and author. He was the team leader of The North Face climbing team for 26 years until 2018. In 1999, he located George Mallory's body on Everest as a member of a sear ...
.
Brice's expertise has also been used for filming logistics for the series ''Planet Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...
'' and the film '' Touching the Void'' (2003).
Brice is a central figure in the documentary ''Sherpa Sherpa may refer to:
Ethnography
* Sherpa people, an ethnic group in north eastern Nepal
* Sherpa language
Organizations and companies
* Sherpa (association), a French network of jurists dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility
* ...
'' (2015), which recounts events surrounding the 2014 Mount Everest ice avalanche
On 18 April 2014, seracs on the western spur of Mount Everest failed, resulting in an ice avalanche that killed sixteen climbing Sherpas in the Khumbu Icefall. This was the same icefall where the 1970 Mount Everest disaster had taken place. ...
.
Personal life
Brice is a founding member and board member of Friends of Humanity, a Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
-based non-profit organization. In 1991, he was project co-ordinator for the 'Balloon Over Everest Expedition', successfully flying two hot air balloons over Everest.
Russell married Jennifer Norris in January 2020 in Canberra, Australia.
Filmography
*''The Last Ridge On Everest'' (1988) HTV documentary
*''Ballooning Over Everest'' (1991)
*''One Foot On Everest'' (1994)
*''Expedition Journal'' (1999)
*''Wild Weather'' (2002) BBC documentary
*''Death on Everest'' (2003)
*''After the Climb'' (2003)
*'' Everest: Beyond the Limit'' (2006) Season 1
*'' Earth: The Power of the Planet'' (2007) BBC production in Chamonix, Ice episode
*'' Everest: Beyond the Limit'' (2007) Season 2
*''The Wildest Dream
''The Wildest Dream'' is a 2010 theatrical-release feature documentary film about the British climber George Mallory who disappeared on Mount Everest in 1924 with his climbing partner Andrew Irvine. The film interweaves two stories, one about clim ...
'' (2008)
*'' Everest: Beyond the Limit'' (2008) Season 3
* ''Sherpa Sherpa may refer to:
Ethnography
* Sherpa people, an ethnic group in north eastern Nepal
* Sherpa language
Organizations and companies
* Sherpa (association), a French network of jurists dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility
* ...
'' (2015) documentary
See also
*Himex
Himex is a Mount Everest guiding company. It was founded in 1996 by New Zealander Russell Brice. The name is a truncated version of the full name "Himalayan Experience". ''National Geographic'' said Himex was the "largest and most sophisticated ...
*List of Mount Everest records
This article lists different records related to Mount Everest. One of the most commonly sought after records is a "summit", to reach the highest elevation point on Mount Everest.
Records
Highest number of times to reach the summit
Other ...
*List of people who died climbing Mount Everest
At least 310 people have died attempting to reach the summit of Mount Everest which, at , is Earth's highest mountain and a particularly desirable peak for mountaineers. The most recent years without known deaths on the mountain are 1977, in whi ...
References
External links
*
Article about David Sharp on Explorers Web
2013: Portrait Painting of Russell Brice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brice, Russell
Living people
New Zealand summiters of Mount Everest
1952 births