Don’s Tribute

A Tribute to my Dad                                                                                               May 23,2016

My dad summited Mt Everest Monday, May 23, 2016 at 5:25am (Sunday evening in the US).  He is safe at basecamp. His team was one of the last teams to summit. Many people have already left and because of the timing of things he and his team will helicopter out to Kathmandu tonight. Thanks to all of you who have supported my dad!

The following is my attempt to give background to his journey and sum up what we all just witnessed:

The summit of Mt Everest:  The accomplishment of a journey that started long ago when my dad was young climbing his first mountain with his dad. That mountain was Hayden’s peak in Utah’s Uinta Mountains. It was also the same mountain my dad took me to for my first climb when I was about eight years old. When my son was born in 2006, we named him Ty Everest after my dad who actually at that point hadn’t planned on climbing Mt Everest. We chose the name because he loved the mountains, and I wanted to come up with a name that exemplified the kind of man my dad is. Everest was the only name that seemed to fit perfectly.

My dad has climbed many mountains, including Europe’s highest Mt Blanc, Africa’s highest Kilimanjaro, Switzerland’s Matterhorn and the dangerous Eiger, Mt Rainier, and many more adventures that would be difficult to name. I can only imagine what he is thinking right now. It must be a very emotional time for him.

His journey to Everest began in 2012 when my mom and dad went to basecamp for the first time. They only planned on doing the basecamp trek. My mom told us that when they were in Kathmandu, my dad went into a climbing store that sold all the proper equipment for big mountain climbing. My dad then asked their guide if he could take someone’s spot and permit to climb the mountain if they dropped out. He was told the permits have to be in the name of the individual and it is a long process to obtain one. Then in 2015 after plans fell through to climb Denali, he booked his trip to Everest. 2015 saw the biggest disaster in Everest history when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit, killing 19 people on Everest and over 8,000 in Kathmandu. He was rescued above the Icefall at Camp 1, via helicopter, that year. That brings us to this year where I’ve never heard my dad sound so mentally and physically tested. Weather became an issue, and his summit attempt was threatened when he came down with bronchitis. Still not feeling 100 percent his team was sent up for their first attempt at the summit, then turned back after their attempt failed due to a bad storm that ended up being a contributing reason why some other teams had major issues with frostbite and other serious problems. When he got back to Camp 2, he told my mom he had nothing left and didn’t think he would be able to continue. Knowing my dad as well as I do I can tell you I’ve never heard him sound so mentally and physically broken. My mom was a major help in encouraging him to keep trying if he had it in him to do so. She said she knew it was his dream and wanted to do everything she could to help him. He did push on and on May 23rd his dream became reality!

Before he left for Nepal we had a family going-away party. He stood up to thank us all, and he said what he was about to do was a selfish thing, but thanked us for supporting his dream and told us that he would be there every step of the way to support our dreams as well. I’ve thought a lot about those words. I don’t feel what he was doing was selfish. It is a legacy that has already inspired many of us to reach higher and to be better. He has always been there every moment supporting not only me but everyone in our family. So it is fitting that he holds a flag with a picture of our family at the top of the world, because we all know and feel that we are his world. Dad we love you.

You’re our world too!

Don