Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa's attempt to set a new speed climbing record on Mount Rainier didn't go as planned this morning.

Gelu, the first man to climb Mount Everest in less than 11 hours, had leg problems at 11,200 feet. He finished in 5 hours, 39 minutes, 43 seconds.

Most people need two days to climb Rainier.

The unofficial record still belongs to Liam O'Sullivan who made the round-trip climb Aug. 5 in 4:46:29. O'Sullivan guides for International Mountain Guides and is a medical student at the University of Washington.

Gelu's attempt was a fundraiser for school in his homeland of Nepal.

Here's the e-mail I just received from Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, who works for Seattle's Alpine Ascents International.

Thanks, this is lhakpa gelu Sherpa I just tried to speed climb for Rainier this morning, but when I was going up to the elevation of 11200 feet I got a problem with my muscle in my calf.

The muscle in my calf is now dislocated on both legs. I continued on to finish what I started, however at that point I did not go for time, for my leg was in major pain.

I did make the summit and came down in 5 hour 39 mi 43 second I took down that summit registry book and I left a new summit registry book that was signed by the NPS.

Still waiting to hear from . I'll post something as soon as I hear.

Until then, I just noticed that the end of my story was cut from today's paper. Apparently the story was too long. So, I thought I'd post it here for anybody who's thinking of making a speed attempt.

DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT

As much fun as George Dunn has had watching his International Mountain Guides employees run up Rainier, he doesn’t want weekend warriors to get the wrong idea.

“I do not encourage anybody to do this,” Dunn said.
Liam O’Sullivan and Justin Merle climbed Rainier more than 100 times each in their careers before their speed attempts. Chad Kellogg was a climbing ranger on the mountain when he first tried.

“You really have to know what you are doing,” Jim Whittaker said. “You should be prepared to have an embolism or heart attack because that’s a lot of elevation to gain.”

In 2003, two ultramarathoners, who trained by running 25 miles per day, tried to set a speed record on Rainier. Neither made higher than 13,000 feet.

“They were lying on the ground vomiting and couldn’t hold their water,” climbing ranger Greg Johnson told The News Tribune in 2004. “Even the fittest of the fit get stopped by the altitude.”

AAI guide Michael Horst, who climbed Rainier in 5 hours, 15 minutes last week, recommends speed climbing at your own pace.

“What constitutes a speed climb?” said Horst, who has summited Rainier 123 times. “I’d even open it up to those who are taking two days. Speed is different for everybody.”