Outdoor Life Network Announces Final Five Athletes Who Will Attempt to Summit Mt. Everest in New Adventure Series

Global Extremes: Mt. Everest - 4Runners of Adventure

STAMFORD, Conn., April 22 -- Outdoor Life Network announced last night at 10:00 PM ET/PT the five athletes who will attempt to summit Mt. Everest, the world's highest pinnacle, on the new original adventure series, "Global Extremes: Mt. Everest - 4Runners of Adventure," to be broadcast LIVE in May.

Last night, viewers watched as nine exceptional men and women, chosen from the original 50 athletes through a series of international challenges in the United States, Costa Rica and Kalahari, were confronted with numerous physical trials in the last adventure site, Iceland. The activities, such as ice climbing, winter bivouacking and kite skiing, were to determine their fitness for the ultimate adventure, the summit attempt of Mt. Everest.

The five athletes chosen for the Mt. Everest Summit Team were: Troy Henkels, 33, a telecommunications technician and locksmith from Eagle River, Alaska; Colleen Ihnken, 38, a registered nurse and professional ski patroller from Alma, Colo.; Ted Mahon, 30, a ski instructor and mountain bike guide from Aspen, Colo.; Petit Pinson, 32, an alternate education teacher and dance choreographer from Coronado, Calif. and Jesse Rickert, 30, a carpenter and craft broom maker from Gunnison, Colo.

As partners, Toyota and the all-new 4Runner SUV have assisted the athletes through each of the international and domestic global challenges. In Iceland, the remaining nine participants relied on the 4Runner SUV as they pioneered a route among the frozen mountain passes and valleys of the Icelandic Ice Caps. Now the Toyota 4Runner will prove that it's capable of taking the team to the 17,820-ft. elevation base camp at Mt. Everest.

The final phase of Global Extremes for the Summit Team will prove to be the ultimate adventure thrill -- a chance to climb Mt. Everest, the world's highest pinnacle. Each athlete was also awarded $50,000 as an honorarium for qualifying for the Summit Team. This expedition is in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's first ascent to the summit, and will be telecast LIVE on OLN in May.

  Remaining Outdoor Life Network's Global Extremes Programming Schedule

   * MT. EVEREST: Global Extremes Studio Show with LIVE footage from Base
     Camp Monday, May 12 and 19 at 10:00 PM ET/PT;  LIVE summit attempt May
     2003, schedule predicated on weather

   * Coverage will be repeated on Tuesdays & Sundays at 10:00 PM ET/PT

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., teamed up with OLN for Global Extremes: Mt. Everest - 4Runners of Adventure to showcase the larger, more powerful and more capable 2003 4Runner, which meets the needs of thrill-seekers. The all-new Toyota 4Runner will be featured as an integral team member providing transport, support and transitional stations. The vehicle's superior off-road capabilities will be displayed by participants and expedition leaders as they navigate through the final stages of the adventure.

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., is the sales, marketing, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota in the United States and is a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. Through a network of over 1,400 Toyota and Lexus dealers, it has achieved sales of more than 1 million vehicles annually over the past 13 years. TMS' goal is to become the "most successful and respected car company in America." Toyota Motor Corp. and its manufacturing subsidiaries produced more than 6.17 million vehicles worldwide in calendar year 2002. Toyota vehicles are manufactured in 27 countries and are renowned for their quality, reliability and value. Toyota is the third-largest vehicle manufacturer in the world and the fourth-largest automaker in North America.

The leader in adventure TV, Outdoor Life Network (www.OLNTV.com) offers more outdoor recreation programming than any other network. The 24-hour cable network, now available in over 51 million homes, is the leading source for television coverage of outdoor adventure sports and outdoor leisure recreation.