In February 2005 Telecom Ottawa and its customer the Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) partnered to sponsor Ben Webster and Shaunna Burke in their quest for the summit of Mount Everest. The joint sponsorship brought unprecedented real-time satellite video of the expedition delivered by Telecom Ottawa to schools within the OCDSB.

Team Expedition Everest departed Ottawa in March 2005 with hopes of a May 2005 summit. Ben Webster, the Expedition’s team leader suffered an unfortunate injury on the mountain in mid-April and was unable to continue with the quest. Although weather and injury hindered the Expedition, Shaunna Burke remained on Everest in hopes of achieving her long time goal.

On May 30th, 2005 Shaunna reached the summit of the mountain making her the second Canadian woman to ever reach the world’s tallest peak.

Telecom Ottawa’s Network Operations Manager, Steve Gamble provided extreme tech support and accompanied Ben and Shaunna to base camp. Read his journals that cover his day-to-date journey.

Telecom Ottawa is proud to have partnered with the OCDSB and Expedition Everest to bring such an exciting Expedition live to schools in Ottawa.