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Black climbers to scale Everest to tackle peak's 'intentional lack of access for black people'

'Our expedition will reshape the narrative of the outdoors to one that is inclusive and where everyone belongs,' the GoFundMe page reads

A team of ten Black and Brown climbers will soon try to climb Mount Everest as they plan to “change the future of mountaineering on a global scale”. The group, named 'The Full Circle Everest Expedition', will start scaling Everest in the spring of 2022 and it’s important because “historically Black and Brown people haven’t been in these areas and environments, especially not on the highest point of the world,” according to Manoah Ainuu, an athlete and a member of the team, who said this in a YouTube video.

The team is being led by Himalayan veteran Phil Henderson, and includes Manoah Ainuu, Frederick Campbell, Eddie Taylor, Demond “Dom” Mullins, Abby Dione, James “KG” Kagambi, Thomas Moore, and Rosemary Saal. Henderson, announced the expedition in August 2021. "The expedition is bringing forward a greater conversation about Black and brown people in the outdoors and what that means: past, present, and future," Henderson said at the time.

The climbers have also launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds and explained the motive in detail behind their efforts. They wrote, “As of 2020, there have been more than 10,000 summits of the mountain. To our knowledge, only 10 Black climbers have stood on the top of Everest. This expedition will permanently change the future of mountaineering on a global scale.” The fundraiser has already raised $154,983 of its $200K goal.

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The explanation continued, “Our team represents our community and are building blocks for greater representation of the climbing community and the outdoors. The impact of this expedition will resonate long after its completion and will continue to highlight the importance of representation in the outdoors,” before adding, “This expedition is an obvious next step for each of our team members. It will showcase the tenacity, strength, skill, and experience our team members have gained and displayed to reach this point in their careers—despite very little representation of our community.”

"In my wildest dreams, I did not think that people would support this project the way they have," said Eddie Taylor, a mountaineer on the expedition, in an Instagram video. Only eight Black people have ever stood atop Mount Everest, Taylor said.

Meanwhile, this new “racism” claim in the field of mountaineering has received a lot of attention online. A user tweeted, “The suggestion that Mt. Everest — or the sport of mountain climbing in general — is racist is a stretch.”