Category: Interview

Art Muir at age 75 became the oldest American to summit Mt. Everest on May 12, 2021, with Madison Mountaineering. He surpassed Bill Burke who held the American Everest age record for 11 years. Burke summited at age 67 on the Nepal side and again from the Tibet side in 2014 at 72. Japanese mountaineer Yoichiro Miura is the oldest person to summit in 2013 at age 80.

I spoke with Art about his motivation, how his family felt about his plans, his 2019 attempt, prior climbing experience then we got into his training, diet, and experience on the climb. We wrapped up with Art’s thoughts on seniors climbing and staying active.

Lukas Furtenbach, of Austrian-based Furtenbach Adventures made global headlines after he canceled his spring 2021 Everest expedition on the Nepal side last Friday. This follows the Chinese decision to cancel their only team on the Tibet side. Meanwhile, the officials responsible for the safety of guests climbing in Nepal deny climbers have COVID at Everest Base Camp. I interviewed Lukas from Everest Base Camp on his Tuesday morning, may 18, 2021. We covered a lot of other topics including:

Planning knowing COVID was a possibility at base camp
Furtenbach Adventure’s COVID protocol from vaccines (members and Sherpas) to time in Kathmandu, Everest Base Camp, and the High Camps
Quarantining members and SHerpas
COVID Testing
Other teams at EBC
Final events leading to the cancellation decision
Getting members and support back home with the airport closed
Donating Furtenbach’s oxygen and bottles to hospitals in Nepal
Pakistan climbing plans (also canceled)
What could have been done differently?
Any regrets?

Who else can you discuss summiting Mt. Everest and dodging polar bears with other than Ryan Waters, of Mountain Professionals? I grabbed Ryan just before he left for Everest 2021. We talked about Everest, of course, and COVID, quarantine, and the confusion around photographs taking and sharing. But we also went into his polar trips to the North and South Poles and his encounters with Polar Bears!!! Scary stuff!!

It’s rare to catch Maya Sherpa for an interview but I did as she was leaving for a double 8000-meter climb of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. She holds the record for most 8000ers for a Nepali female at 6 with Everest, Lhotse, Manaslu, Kanchenjunga, Cho Oyu, and K2. We talked about how a girl from rural Nepal broke into the male-dominated world of mountaineering, not only as a climber but also as a guide. She talked about her now 11-year-old daughter and how she wants to use their climbing to inspire others, especially this next generation of young ladies. An informative and inspirational interview with something for everyone. Enjoy!