"I had an epiphany on a mountaintop in India-it sounds a bit cheesy, but it's true," said Lance Trumbull, a week after returning from the world's highest peak. As founder of The Everest Peace Project, Trumbull's revelation couldn't have taken place at a more appropriate location. "I decided I wanted to put together an authentic peace climb, people from different faiths and cultures, including Palestinians and Israeli men-something that's never happened before."
 
Trumbull founded The Everest Peace Project in 2002, the apex of a few year's worth of soul searching. "In 2001, I went through a very difficult divorce, so I did something quite un-American," said Trumbell. That something was selling everything this 38-year-old former online bookseller and resident of Sunnyvale, CA, possessed, including his business, car, furniture, and clothing-everything except a couple of duffle bags full of equipment. Trumbull then moved to Nepal, mountain climbing in Nepal, Tibet, China, India, and Russia.
 
Once Trumbull became inspired to have a peace climb of Mount Everest, he says he spent every day of his life for the next three and a half years trying to make it happen. "I knocked on lots of doors, and finally Panasonic raised their hand, came on board, and helped fund the climb." The company provided him with money, and four Toughbook CF-29s.
 
While other notebooks failed at the base camp around the 17,500-foot mark, Trumbull used his CF-29 to relay updates about him and his diverse team of 17 other climbers from the advanced base camp at 21,000 feet. "We sent out almost daily dispatches to our site. By using a satellite connection, the team was able to send video, audio, and written and picture updates to its Web site. "Everything you see before May 24th was sent from on Mount Everest itself," Trumbull said.
 
Just as important, Trumbull used the notebooks to connect with friends and family, as well as the media. "Basically, the Toughbook was our life-line to the world. We were also getting our weather updates-something extremely important."
 
Trumbull told us he tried and succeeded in sending a positive message, thanks to teamwork and friendship. "Even the tallest mountain in the world can be surmounted when you have those ingredients," he said.
 
While they've all returned safely from the mountain, Trumbull assured LAPTOP that his plans for the Everest Peace Project are far from over, starting with the production of a documentary based on the climb. "Future plans are: get the documentary funded, make the film, and have it shown all over the world. As we spoke, Trumbull was downloading all of the MiniDV tapes onto a one terabyte external hard drive.