Climbing legend and Bainbridge Island resident Ed Viesturs summited Mt. Everest yesterday morning as part of an expedition to promote Eddie Bauer’s new line of expedition gear. Ron Judd of the Times has the complete rundown of the details here. Also on the summit was Peter Whittaker, who comes from a long line of climbing legends. in 1963, his uncle Jim Whittaker was the first American to stand atop Everest. Peter’s father, Lou, opened Mt. Rainier guiding service RMI.Over 10 years ago, I had the chance to interview Viesturs, who at the time was promoting his IMAX film “Everest.” Considering the couple years he’d had beforehand, I found him to be one of the most honest and accommodating athletes I’ve ever interviewed. The “Everest” film captured the attention of the world after the so-called 1996 Everest Tragedy with the deaths of eight climbers, including local climbing guru Scott Fischer and noted guide Rob Hall – both of which were good friends of his. Viesturs was heralded as a hero who braved a deadly storm to help save the lives of other climbers stranded high on the mountain.
In the article I wrote over a decade ago, Viesturs had all but written off going back to Everest because of the crowds on the mountain and the feeling that there wasn’t much left to do on the tallest peak on earth. But even Viesturs admitted, “never say never.”
Here’s the article:
Haunted Up High
Seattle mountaineer Ed Viesturs gets on with life after ’96 Everest tragedy
By Dan Engel
Ed Viesturs awoke and set out for Camp IV on Mt. Everest at 11 p.m.
Heading into the pitch-black night with only his headlamp and knowledge of the terrain leading the way, he set out on his final summit push.
Viesturs made good time up the slopes of the mountain, despite breaking trail for his teammates who would leave for the summit an hour later. The circular light from his headlamp bobbed and danced on the blanket of virgin snow that covered the South Col.
Viesturs had been blessed with good weather on May 22, 1996. The weather was cooperating and Viesturs climbed relentlessly.
Step.
Breath.
Step.
Breath.
But the weather hadn’t been as forgiving just a couple of weeks earlier when his close friends Rob Hall and Scott Fischer died on Everest in a blinding snow storm along with four others.
As Viesturs trudged through the fresh, knee-deep snow, he knew he would likely run across the bodies of his friends. Eventually, he did.
“You have to remember I saw them on the way to the summit,” Viesturs recalls, more than two years later as he sits in the backyard of his West Seattle home. “So I tried to set myself up for that however I could. On the way up I focused on getting to the top.”
Viesturs summited at 9 a.m. with the IMAX® film team not far behind who shot the first footage from the summit with the bulky large-format camera.
With his goal achieved, Viesturs made his descent via the Southeast Ridge with two stops along the way.
“On the way down, I spent a few minutes with both Rob and Scott to pay my last respects,” Viesturs says. “I never lost a friend before, let alone two friends on the mountain at the same time.”
Even now, Viesturs can’t shake the thoughts of the Everest tragedy. He often turns to his wife Paula, who was the IMAX team base-camp manager, to talk about the ill-fated season.
“I still think about it every day,” he says. “And we still talk about it – somehow it still comes up.”
More than two years after the much publicized Everest tragedy of 1996, Viesturs continues answering questions about what happened and why. But he yields few answers about why those people died. He doesn’t even want to try to explain what possibly could have gone wrong.
“So many people from the media wanted us to speculate why things happened and whose fault it was and I just hated that,” he says. “I wasn’t on the summit ridge, I don’t know why they made the decisions they did – let it be. But of course everybody wanted to blame somebody. John Krakauer was as close to the action as anybody. Read his book, or read Anatoli’s (Boukreev) book. But you can’t ask the dead what happened.”
The inquires keep coming as Viesturs travels the country to promote the Everest IMAX film and give lectures. The 39-year-old climber is ready to move on with his life. But the media and the public aren’t finished with him yet.
“You miss these people, but you kind of have to keep going,” he says.
Viesturs understands and accepts his role in all of this, although it can be trying at times. Because of the lectures and film premieres, he hasn’t had the time or the financial need to continue guiding. Instead, his days are spent talking to corporate groups, college students and Everest junkies, an activity he enjoys.
“It’s tiring, though,” he says. “You go to a reception and there are 80 people who come up to you and ask the same questions. But you have to answer each person like he or she was the first person you talked to.”
The man without the mask
Viesturs is asked questions about his climbing abilities about as much as the Everest tragedy. He’s revered as one of, if not the, best high-altitude climber in the world.
“I would say Ed is the most consistent both emotionally and physically,” says Todd Burleson, founder of Alpine Ascents International in Seattle. “He has done great things and he has done them without luck. Ed is like the Mark McGwire of mountaineering. The interesting thing about Ed is that he looks so normal.”
Viesturs has summited 10 of the highest 14 peaks in the world, all without supplemental oxygen. He will try to make it 12 by the end of next spring. He has also led or been involved with Everest expeditions nearly every spring since 1987.
But his beginnings were humble.
After graduating from high school in 1977, Viesturs moved out to Seattle from Illinois to pursue his love of climbing.
His first summit was Mt. St. Helens that same year and it transformed his life.
“When I finally got to the top, I said ‘This is exactly what I’m looking for – this is what I dreamed about.'”
Viesturs studied zoology at the University of Washington for four years before moving on to Washington State University to attend veterinary school.
He practiced as a veterinarian for two years before making a decision to climb fulltime.
“By then I was climbing a lot and going on a lot of expeditions,” he says. “I realized that I couldn’t do both.”
Viesturs joined Rainier Mountaineering Inc. in 1982 where he guided clients for 12 years. While he has summited Mt. Rainier 187 times, climbing the Northwest giant is never mundane.
“It can be as nasty on Rainier as it can be on Everest,” Viesturs says. “If you climb a lot in the Northwest through the winter, other than altitude, you’d be ready for Everest.
“Look how many Himalayan climbers come from Seattle. It’s because of our terrain and our weather – it has produced some pretty hardcore climbers.”
Ascending the peaks of the Cascades prepared Viesturs for his first test with Everest in 1987. He fell short of making the summit by 300 feet when he ran out of rope. But Viesturs knew he could summit Everest and make it to the top without bottled oxygen.
“My physiology, just by luck, happens to work well at altitude,” he says. “You read these descriptions of people who just stagger to the top and are just wasted and they barely get off the mountain. It’s really not like that for me. It’s tiring, but I come down feeling pretty good.”
But he does use supplemental oxygen when guiding clients at high altitude, especially Everest.
“At that point I’m there for my clients and I’m not there for myself,” he says.
Viesturs’ client list has dwindled the past few years due in part to his lecturing and the birth of his son Gilbert. His time is more precious now. When he’s in town, Viesturs would rather be at home with his son.
However, Gilbert’s birth hasn’t changed how Viesturs climbs and probably won’t keep him out of the mountains.
“My attitude has always been that I wanted to be as safe as I could be and as conservative as I could be because I want to live through these climbs,” he says. “I’m equally as safe and conservative now as I’ve always been.”
After Viesturs summits the 14 peaks, he’ll likely turn his attention to smaller climbs not far from home.
“I could be happy for the rest of my life climbing here in the Cascades,” he says. “This is something that is in my blood, so I can’t see quitting.”
Everest Anonymous
The spring of 1997 marked the end of Viesturs’ Everest adventures.
The decision was a mutual one with David Breashears, expedition leader and producer of the 1996 IMAX team, and Pete Athans, a friend and fellow climber.
“We were sitting there on the South Col thinking, ‘What are we doing here?’” Viesturs says. “We’ve been here a dozen times each, let’s get on with our lives.”
The threesome dubbed themselves “Everest Anonymous,” a tongue-in-cheek name for their support group. Each member vowed never to return to the icy slopes of Everest. If one does return, there’s a hefty penalty.
“We’ll owe each other $1,000,” Viesturs says.
The reasons for Viesturs not returning have little to do with the Everest tragedy and more with personal goals and the crowds that flock to the mountain every spring. Everest has become a been-there-done-that thing. He has climbed the mountain on every side, guided clients to its summit, filmed a movie and shot a video documentary.
There just isn’t much more to do on the mountain he says is his favorite to climb. But he hasn’t closed the door completely on Everest.
“I don’t feel the need to guide on Everest again, unless it was for a unique individual or project,” he says.
Crowding and differences in mountain-guiding philosophy on Everest also keeps Viesturs at a safe distance.
“There are so many people there now, half of them shouldn’t be there,” he says, alluding to what he feels are too many clients with a lack of climbing skills. “And if someone gets in trouble, you are obligated to help.”
When Viesturs made the decision to take a client to Everest he considered the criteria. His client had to climb for the right reasons, meaning no trophy hunters. He also wanted a client who had enough experience to be self-sufficient.
“A guide isn’t supposed to hold your hand, wipe your nose, set up your tent and cook your food,” he says. “We are there for leadership. I think a lot of guides have produced a client that requires someone to be there all the time and I think that’s wrong.
“Just because someone can write a check doesn’t mean they should climb Mt. Everest. Just because you know how to drive a car doesn’t mean you go to the Indy 500.”
Viesturs made it a practice to tell his clients that payment didn’t equal an automatic shot at the summit. Clients had to perform down low and show that they were up for the challenge. He didn’t want to put his life and the lives of other clients in danger.
Unfortunately, the public believes that for $85,000 someone can climb to the top of Everest, Viesturs says. Consequently, the guiding profession has taken a knock and Viesturs is trying to mend the wound when traveling the country for lectures and IMAX-film premieres.
“I get a chance when I get out there to tell them Everest is difficult,” Viesturs says. “I trained for 10 years before I went.
“They think these guide services are just schlepping people up Mt. Everest and it’s not true. Most guides are experienced professionals. Most clients have been climbing for years and years before they work their way up to Everest. Of course, there are a few services running shoddy trips, but that is the minority.”
Through his lectures, Viesturs also gets to share why he loves climbing. Most people can relate, he says, because mountain climbing is all about setting goals for yourself as well as enjoying the beauty of nature.
“The feeling you get when you accomplish something very difficult, it’s a feeling that is very addictive," he says. "It’s also just being in the cold, crisp air … being high on a ridge when the sun comes up while climbing with one of your best friends.
“You just can’t take a picture of that and have it describe what you’re feeling.”
But Viesturs will continue trying to explain that feeling to as many people as he can.
*As it appeared in the November 1998 issue of Sports Etc. Magazine.
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