RAN - Summer 2005 08.indd - Regis High School

Summer 2005 11
“A Margin of Luck”
By: Greg Vadasdi ‘94
November of 2004 I stood at the top of
In Mt. Ama Dablam (22,494 feet) in the
Nepal Himalaya and looked across the valley
at Mt. Everest (29,028 feet). Hundred mileper-hour
jet winds had scoured the snow
form the upper mountain and the rocky,
dark summit pyramid looked sinister. It was
a breath taking view and at that moment
all my hesitation vanished. I would return to
attempt Everest, despite its regularly tragic
history.
In the summer of 2004 I wrote down an
ambitious list of objectives for my year away
from the corporate world. The list included
some work related items, but in reality it
centered on endurance events around the
globe such as triathlons and mountaineering.
The plan, on paper at least, was to climax
the year with an attempt on Everest. After
leading a successful expedition to Mt.
McKinley (20,320 feet) in May 2004, I felt
that I could mount a credible effort with ten
months to train, prepare and gain additional
experience. I shared my plan with some close
friends and their response was muted; they
thought I was mad. Privately, I was also
apprehensive regarding the dangers and
difficulties of the path I chose.
My confidence increased as I completed
milestones such as Ama Dablam, the aptly
named Epic Camp Australia (a triathlon
training camp), and the Ironman Canada
and New Zealand triathlons. In a sense I had
trained for Everest ever since I started hiking
with my parents at age five and rock climbing
at age thirteen. The idea of attempting
Everest gradually changed from a far fetched
dream into a reasonable proposition. I knew
I needed a strong partner to have a chance
to summit, and sharing the adventure with a
friend would make it much more enjoyable.
Daniel Protz was my college crew teammate,
a world champion rower, investment
colleague, and regular climbing partner. He
was the ideal mate for the ten week journey
and not just because he was my only friend
with the inclination, time and resources to
commit to the venture. We had climbed
Mt. Elbrus (18,510 feet) and Mt. McKinley
together, and we were equally stubborn and
aggressive. Most importantly, we were both
fully committed, willing to do and endure
anything required for success, while climbing
safely. We share a passion for tackling athletic
challenges, and in March we completed the
New Zealand Ironman triathlon and climbed
in the Southern Alps. These were our final
mental and physical preparations for our
Everest expedition. It is critical to have a
compatible team as nothing torpedoes an
expedition faster than personality conflicts.
In January of 2005 we wired the deposit to
Asian Trekking and ordered oxygen bottles
from Russia. Asian Trekking was our Nepal
based expedition support agent. With their
help we acquired government permits,
purchased food, and hired two cooks and
two high altitude climbing Sherpas. The
staff, equipment and support provided
were excellent and essential to our success.
Despite the hardships of living in Tibet and
Nepal, the Sherpas have a positive attitude,
are sharp and possess an immense work
ethic. We called ourselves The Big Green
Everest Expedition after the mascot of our
alma mater, Dartmouth College.
Climbing Everest was an unforgettable
athletic, spiritual, cultural and learning
experience. It was a much broader adventure
than I expected. On June second, after a ten
hour climb from high camp, I stood on the
summit with Dan and our two indefatigable
Sherpas, Ang Mingma and Mingma Dorjee.
I felt joy and satisfaction, but these were
tempered by my fatigue, cold feet and
awareness of the precarious nature of our
position. At the summit the oxygen in the air
was a third of that at sea level, and we had a
long, complicated descent ahead of us.
Climbing at extreme high altitudes, even
with the aid of supplementary oxygen, is
demanding and the margin for error is razor
thin. A climber can feel strong one minute
and suddenly, fall apart the next, struggling to
survive. The four bodies we passed on summit
day were a grim reminder of this. One was
of a Slovenian climber who had run out of
oxygen on his return from the summit. He sat
down, too exhausted to continue and died.
When we passed by two weeks later, he was
still attached to the fixed rope on the summit
pyramid, his anguished face and clawed
fingers were a terrible sight. Thankfully, we
had strength and good health, spare oxygen
bottles in our backpacks, and great support
from our Sherpas. Nevertheless, I have never
felt as tired in my life as I did on summit day,
especially in the last hours of the down climb
to high camp.
While we had been remarkably healthy
throughout the expedition, Everest would
not let us part unscathed. On summit day
I suffered minor frostbite to my toes. Dan
developed a serious chest infection a few
hours after we dragged ourselves into
advanced base camp, shattered from our
summit push. His lungs filled with fluid,
nearly drowning him. I scrambled through
the cold night to find a doctor. At 2 am Dan
received an IV of antibiotics and oxygen. He
was weak, but able to hike to base camp the
next day.
We were lucky on our climb of Everest. Any
number of variables such as high winds,
a faulty oxygen regulator, or a slip at an
inopportune moment could have derailed
our summit bid or worse. I shudder to
think of what could have happened if Dan’s
debilitating infection had struck a day or
even a few hours earlier. There is virtually no
chance of rescue from high on the mountain.
Our margin of luck was just enough for us to
summit and return safely.
I hope the following photo-essay gives a
feel for our experiences. You can find more
photos and information about the expedition
at www.biggreeneverest.com. The website
will soon incorporate our foundation to aid
Sherpa education. Tourism to the Himalaya
brings money and awareness of the region.
High altitude climbing Sherpas, who would
otherwise be sustenance farmers, can make
a better living by working on expeditions.
However, many Sherpas would prefer
their children didn’t have to work in such
a hazardous occupation. The foundation
will provide aid for the higher education of
Sherpa children.
PHOTO ESSAY