{"id":48959,"date":"2026-01-23T17:50:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T00:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=48959"},"modified":"2026-01-23T17:50:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T00:50:23","slug":"podcast-with-ryan-mitchell-justin-sackett-plans-for-two-8000ers-no-os","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/23\/podcast-with-ryan-mitchell-justin-sackett-plans-for-two-8000ers-no-os\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast with Ryan Mitchell & Justin Sackett: Plans for Two 8000ers, No O’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ryan Mitchell, a Summit Coach<\/a> client, is preparing to climb two 8000-meter peaks, without supplemental oxygen, with his friend and professional mountain guide, Justin Sackett. In this podcast, we discuss the expedition, its risks, decision-making and emotions. As usual, Ryan will film the climbs and post on his very popular YouTube channel. \u00a0We also discussed the upcoming Everest season and some potential policy changes, especially on the Nepal side.<\/p>\n

No O’s is serious business. Of the 13,737 Everest summits by 7,563 people, only 232 have been done without oxygen. And it’s deadly. Of the 339 deaths, 180, or 53%, were climbers who were not on O’s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ryan has become very popular since he summited Everest at age 20 in 2024 with Madison Mountaineering. He made a serious attempt on K2 in 2025 but was stopped by deadly rockfall that took lives last year. He now lives in the Pacific Northwest and is building an impressive climbing resume, including ascents of Everest, K2, Ama Dablam, Denali, Aconcagua (2), Mt. Washington, Shuckson, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Justin cut his climbing teeth on Mt Rainier with over 50 summits before founding his own company, Skyline Mountain Guides. He guides in the Pacific Northwest and internationally on Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, and more.<\/p>\n

They will be a small, independent team climbing with perhaps just a Sherpa on Os and carrying an emergency bottle.<\/p>\n

You can follow Ryan at:<\/p>\n