BlueGerbil said:
Personal Statem from Matthias Jeschke to the Jeep High Altitude World Record 2007:
There are many men and women whom I look up to.
Men and women who have achieved something very special and for whom I feel great respect.
I honour their courage and esteem their achievements.
However, people do not become outstanding persons merely on the basis of their intellectual, physical or sporting achievements.
From people who would like to be heroes, or even declare themselves to be heroes, I expect something more – an attitude towards others which is marked by respect and common decency.
In the normal way I do not react to everything that gets said, because I have had experience enough in the past with envy. Things were no different in 2005, though in the meantime there has been a change in quality. In those days they tried to tell us that people in other parts of the world had driven cars up to 7,500 and 8,000 metres, but this year the methods used were very different.
For this reason I am allowing myself to contribute a few clear words to the current discussion towards the Suzuki-team:
If anyone compares the events leading up to the exciting world altitude record in 2007 with the “David versus Goliath” story and feels compelled to call himself David, this suggests either insecurity or plain contempt for a competitor. Goliath was a soldier who disparaged and ridiculed a whole people. David came forward to put an end to this mockery and rescue his people.
It is barefaced impertinence to describe us as Goliath. The Extrem Events / Jeep Wrangler world altitude record team was a cooperation based on close friendship between Chileans and Germans. This highly successful expedition was carried out with the full cooperation of our Chilean partners and friends.
I am especially angry because, only a few days after the Jeep record, the Chilean rangers who escorted our expedition were insulted most offensively by persons close to Suzuki team circles and abused as traitors – because they had given help to foreigners. This is absurd!
We cooperated very closely with the regional government, the Governor, the Regional Ministry of Tourism, the rangers and various Chilean companies.
Everything was agreed on together with the authorities, with the aim – over and above the record itself – of making a special film to create publicity for the product, also for Chile, the Atacama Desert region and, most especially, the volcanoes. It must be evident to one and all that we needed equipment and manpower for a project of this kind. It would be futile to discuss our budget – most of which was invested in Chile anyway – with people who have never been concerned to establish the facts.
An expedition has to take possible emergencies into account. Persons who venture into perilous terrains and expose themselves to hazards – without notifying the authorities and during a time when no rangers were present on the mountain – are acting irresponsibly towards the people who may have to go to their rescue later, and are also spoiling the public image of the region – all the more so when they use a vehicle for the purpose which had almost gone up in flames during the earlier attempt.
The signboard set up together by the rangers and ourselves was intended as a reminder of the splendid achievement of an international team which had ventured up to enormous heights. People who proudly adorn themselves with such trophies have lost what little respect I still had for them. It is a matter of honour not to misappropriate a witness of this kind.
The Jeep Wrangler world altitude record 2007 (6646 metres, confirmed by Guinness World Records with a certificate dated 26 April 2007) was carried out in strict compliance with the Guinness rules. There is no evidence that these rules were observed during the Suzuki expedition. A driver who follows in the team’s tracks with an off-roader converted to a rock crawler, without exhaust certification or vehicle licence, and then claims to have climbed 30 metres higher, has not set up a Guinness World Record. There are many different reasons for this. Although required by the current Guinness rules, no official or independent observers were present during the record journey of the Suzuki team; according to a statement from the regional and area administration of the Ojos del Salado, the journey had not been authorised; no permission had been granted to drive up the Ojos del Salado; no confirmation had been received from a representative of the Regional Government; the two mobile GPS appliances were not firmly secured to the vehicle and thus open to manipulation. And so on.
Sorry, lads, but that just isn’t on.
A final word:
We can now obviously expect a reaction from Gonzalo B. G. and the team. Both of them will let their egos off the leash and serve up a variety of stories and statements. But there will be no more reaction from me. The facts are clear enough.
Yours,
Matthias Jeschke
Extrem Events
Answer to Mr Jeschke’s letter dated May 11th 2007
Wow; I am really Impress how far can a company goes on this.
To start, let me clarify that this expedition is not called “Suzuki Expedition”, that is just the brand of my rig, and there in no any Suzuki sponsorship on this, is just a modest expedition headed by me, Gonzalo Bravo.
I would like to clarify that Mr Jeschke comments that supposed to come from my people (4 people) never came form us, and he is using the comments that many people wrote on the different web sites forums where this matter is published. Just like to see one simple line where one of us is saying something about them or insulting someone. I am the first person that has been insulted.
I am seeing that they finished trying to close this issue, like saying the last words, well I will not stay quite with this kind of lies from this people, as a last effort to protect what they sells to his customers. This is not the first time that I hear this kind of comments from Mr Jeschke, last time was “we got the border of the crater” “… I reached the highest point, possible for vehicles to drive up and ever to reach”, false, just to extend his business one year more.
I have been clarifying the sign issue in all places, and they insist to take advantage of this, where we clearly state when published such picture (on 04-25-2007, 10:39hrs at
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=575413&page=2) that such lower section was laying on the ground in the middle of the volcano, and the bigger plastic sections must to be dirtying this area on this moment. This fact generated a lot of claims from hiking people that usually climb this volcano, and with reasons to think it, because besides this non biodegradable piece of plastics, they left a 1,5m height reflecting pole in the middle of the highest volcano in the world. So please, don’t tell ME about ecologist just based on the fact that the people that you yearly rent, denied to give me the letter “to go off road” after your phone call. Letter that we finally got last week from our government.
Regarding the path we use, you well know that is the ONLY path that exist, and the same path that used 8 expeditions before you, so please, don’t abuse the lack of information that a person who reads this can have.
We were waiting you to make 30m more? Please tell all the people, include your sponsors, that I personally informed you about my expedition at mid 2006, and made a first attempt on Jan 01st 2007, and could not make the second because the volcano concession denied the access to me because “all was rented by Matthias for big money”, and have to wait till you left. Then the car failed on the second attempt and could get the needed money to return for a 3rd attempt from friends and family two weeks later. So, who started with this?
Regarding the GWR, you are wrong again, and you are definitely repeating what your rented people is telling you, because we have the needed documents duly signed by who concern and are actually on the GWR hands. So let me tell you that your calling made to press was not so effective, there is still straight forward people down here.
Why you are so interested on Guinness registration? Is what you sell to Daimler Chrysler and can not handle such pressure? Any person that was there before can easily see where we finish, and see that this expedition that started one year ago, was successful to made a new record, is that so difficult to recognize?
Don’t try to show this like a joint expedition with some Chilean friend that left huge money to Chile, you just hire people on the best place to make this record and were there is no restriction to go off-road. At least to me, to pay Usd 80 total to a person to carry your film equipments to 6600m and prepare the beakfast during 5 days is not big money. This is your business and is my hobby; don’t try to show another story please.
To finish, I hope the influences of Mr Jeschke will not affect the GWR decisions, and the fact that we did not pay the ₤300 for fast check that they regularly paid, will neither affect an expedition that had follow every single requirement made before the attempt.
I am really upset; I will never ever thing that Mr Jeschke goes so far trying to justify his job in front of his customers, I will never accept this kind if insults.
Mathias, if you can not handle the pressure of your customers that paid you several hundred thousand dollars for this, don’t use me for your circus, I will no stay quite.
XJ needs to bring that crown back to the jeep side
