Your trip turned tragic when two sherpas on your team and a third from another team were killed in an ice fall. Did you consider calling off the climb?
A: We did. It affected us tremendously. The whole first day (of the accident) we were dealing with the tragedy and the emergency aspects of it. Then we had to decide as a team whether we wanted to continue the expedition. We told the head sherpa that we understood if the other sherpas did not want to continue. If they did want to stop the expedition, they would be paid full wages. We didn’t want money to be their motivating factor. Then we talked as a team as to whether we wanted to go forward. Ultimately the sherpas decided they wanted to continue, and we did as well.
Q: Once you decided to push on, what was the most challenging part of the climb?
A: During the summit push, at Camp II, there were four climbers. When we got to Camp II, which is at 21,500 feet, I got very sick with dysentery. It was debilitating to be up that high and going through that type of sickness. The other three climbers decided to go on. I decided I didn’t have enough energy. I was turning around to go down when I received a radio call from the other three climbers. The winds were too high to make the summit, so they were coming back down. My climb was certainly on the bubble at that point. I was able to recuperate enough during the following day and a half to continue. The climb from Camp II to Camp III was an absolute bear. Normally it would have taken me six hours, but it took me nine. I stayed overnight in Camp III and climbed to Camp IV the next morning. I rested for eight hours and then started the summit attempt that evening.
Q: Did you ever feel your life was in danger?
A: There was never a time when I felt in danger or thought conditions were out of control. Every time I climbed through the Khumbu Icefall, there was a great feeling of potential danger, which was highlighted by the accident with the sherpas. Every time I was in there, I felt extremely nervous and highly motivated to get through as quickly as possible.
Q: How do you explain to someone who has never been at that altitude just how difficult it is?
A: Imagine your heart rate at 160-plus beats per minute and you’re continuing to climb higher. You literally have to breathe six to seven seconds with each step. You’re on the edge of nausea and vomiting.
Q: Why did you want to climb Everest?
A: I’ve been climbing for a long time. Like most mountaineers, Everest is always in the back of your mind. I started planning the trip a couple years ago. It took that long to get it together.
Q: What does the accomplishment mean to you?
A: It felt great to get it done. One of the messages I try to bring home to people is to get out and to really live their lives. If they have a dream, go meet that dream and try. It takes dedication, hardship, discipline, training, and sometimes you fail. But sometimes you succeed. I really do believe in getting out there and living a life of excellence. The only way to do that is by pursuing your passions and your dreams.
Q: How did you balance family and work during your training?
A: I have a very supportive family. My wife, Lisa Renee, is an athlete herself, and so she understands that type of commitment. It wasn’t shocking or foreign to her that I would want to climb Everest or would have to go through extensive training to do it. She’s a personal trainer, so she helped me put my program together. We had a newborn, Bowden, who’s now almost 3 years old, and we also have an 8-year-old daughter, Alexandra. It took a lot of coordination and scheduling. I was also working full time. I let my partners know I wanted to climb Everest two years ago. They were extremely supportive. Since I’ve been back, they’ve helped form a foundation to raise money for the families of the lost sherpas.
Q: Are there lessons you can apply to your law practice?
A: This trip drives home the importance of preparation and planning. Something as complicated as climbing a mountain or managing a complex case takes planning, and it takes close coordination. But also you have to be extremely flexible. To borrow a phrase from the Marine Corps, you have to be able to improvise, adapt and overcome. Inevitably the plan you lay is going to go out the window once the action really starts.
Q: What’s your next adventure?
A: One of the things I’ve always had in mind is to re-create part of Ernest Shackleton’s 1916 adventure when he sailed from
Elephant Island off the coast of Antarctica to South Georgia, which is off of South America, and then traverse South Georgia Island. To my knowledge, that voyage has not been repeated.
More online: For more on Doug Tumminello’s Everest climb, go to www.nolimitsclimbing.com.
Edited for length and clarity from an interview by staff writer Greg Griffin.
