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<\/a>First off, Patrick is a lover of detail. A quick visit to his blog<\/a> shows graphs, tables, charts, oh my. His attention is detail is exactly what you want in a pilot or your doctor but in this case, as a climber, he will know when he leaves zone 3 or his hemoglobin level has spiked or … you get the point. His daily training log<\/a> is, well, impressive.<\/p>\nEverest has become a mission for Patrick.\u00a0His first attempt in 2014 was cut short after an ice serac released onto the Khumbu Icefall killing \u00a016 Sherpas. He returned the next year only to be stopped by the massive \u00a07.8 earthquake. \u00a0Now he is preparing to leave soon for his “last” attempt on Everest.<\/p>\n
Please meet Patrick:<\/p>\n
Q: As we covered in the intro, you trained hard and planned on Everest in 2014 and 2015 but conditions out of your control stopped you. So the obvious question. What brings you back?<\/strong><\/p>\n
I wish I could provide you with a simple answer but the fact of the matter is that I simply don’t give up.\u00a0 Those past two expeditions had outcomes beyond my control.\u00a0 I’m just tenacious.\u00a0 My objective was to test my limits on Everest and I never got a chance to even try to climb.\u00a0 The financial hit I took from those two years left me reeling for two years.\u00a0 Now, after dusting myself off and preparing again to climb, I had the financial ability to give it a final go.\u00a0 Yes, that is not a typo.\u00a0 I have one more effort in me for this mountain.\u00a0 After this year, I intend to focus my attention on other objectives.\u00a0 Everest occupied my attention for 5 years – long enough to keep me interested but I cannot remain enthusiastic beyond these years.\u00a0 So, I have a mission – to climb and test myself.\u00a0 I hope to get the chance this time around and whatever the outcome I know I gave it my all in preparation.<\/p>\n
Q: As mentioned you were in 2014 when the ice serac release killed 16 Sherpas. Where were you when this happened and how did it impact you own personal feeling of using Sherpas for support?<\/strong><\/p>\n
We were just walking into base camp when the serac slid into the icefall.\u00a0 Our initial focus was on the health, safety, and well-being of all climbers regardless of their nationality.\u00a0 I think the event really shook everyone.\u00a0 Over the subsequent days, we witnessed behaviors that deviated from a cohesive climbing community to a divisive and divided group without any clear voice or direction.\u00a0 We decided as a team to leave base camp and climb while the events unfolded.\u00a0 During that time away from base camp, I grew more empathetic toward the dire situation for most Sherpa.\u00a0 The Sherpa among our group wanted to climb but their lives and families were being threatened by a minority group and I really felt great sorrow with them.\u00a0 We all paid a dear price.<\/p>\n
How did these events influence my view of using Sherpa for support?\u00a0 I think it only strengthened my connection with them and my desire to help them as I would anyone else who shared my passions.\u00a0 It was a tough year for us all; I lost roughly one-third of my yearly wage after that fateful day.\u00a0 The Sherpa lost an equivalent.\u00a0 Not many people wanted to hear how the event affected westerners but we all suffered.\u00a0 I feel more connected with our Sherpa as a result and I would not hesitate to climb with them or support them however possible.<\/p>\n
Q:\u00a0 2015, the earthquake again stopped all climbs and took 17 lives. Again, where were you and how did seeing so many lives lost over just two years impact your own view of objective dangers in climbing and your own mortality?<\/strong><\/p>\n
In 2015, we arrived at Camp 1 and crawled into our tents to relax when the earthquake occurred.\u00a0 It was a surreal event.\u00a0 Just after the glacier moved, we scrambled out of our tents to brace ourselves for what seemed like a certain death by avalanche.\u00a0 The entire glacier rumbled and rattled like many of us have felt in the backcountry during avalanches.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the whiteout conditions and our position close to the SE ridge of Everest prevented us from seeing or hearing the true location of the slide.\u00a0 We were hit by two consecutive aerosol slides that could have easily swept us into a nearby crevasse – fortunately they did not.\u00a0Afterwards, our focus was on getting to safer grounds and checking on our team.\u00a0 It was chaotic to say the least.<\/p>\n
I do not think that day nor the prior year had much of an effect on my views of mountaineering.\u00a0 Dangers exist in the backcountry and I accept them and prepare for them the best I can.\u00a0 An earthquake and serac fall are natural events that could neither be predicted nor prepared for in advance.\u00a0 I accept those risks.\u00a0 There are far more dangerous activities and I moderate my risk exposure through careful decision-making.\u00a0 I consider these calculated risks and ones I am prepared to accept.<\/p>\n
Q: Your training has been amazing as has your documentation of it on your site. What key lessons have you learned through this year as well as previous training periods that you think would surprise most people?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Training for these events requires more than just gym time and cardio training.\u00a0 As you know, mountaineering involves many activities and it is often the lion you don’t see that eats you.\u00a0 By that statement I mean that most people focus on fitness where I focus on becoming more rugged.\u00a0 I change my diet constantly, adjust my sleeping schedule, create many uncomfortable situations, and monitor my response to all of these situations.\u00a0 The hardier the person, the more able they are to adapt to unforeseen situations.\u00a0 I firmly believe in that approach and I learned from previous expeditions (skiing, climbing, sailing, etc) that the most meaningful preparation is mental.\u00a0 Train your brain to tolerate long days.<\/p>\n
What surprises most people is that they believe mountaineering training involves high intensity bouts of exercise.\u00a0 Nothing could be further from the truth.\u00a0 We all learn that low intensity, high resistance training produces both the muscle endurance and the mental fortitude necessary to push through the discomfort on summit day.\u00a0 Want to train for climbing?\u00a0 Work on your house after running a marathon at a slow pace; that should get you in great shape and ready to climb.<\/p>\n