Previous Climbs
Over the past year and a half, John has amassed an impressive resume of climbs.
These climbs illustrate John's personal commitment to overcome his orthopedic issues.
In late March of 2009, John and Jon Shea head to Mt. Everest where they will be joined in Kathmandu by Phinjo Sherpa.
Phinjo has reached the Everest summit five times and is from the village of Phortse, home of the Khumbu Climbing School.
A group of friends and family will accompany them to base camp and see them off.
Climb Resume
Mt. Rainier, September 2007 - John chose climbing Mt. Rainier as part of his surgery recovery plan. He was placed on a climb in late September of 2007. Initially John kept information about his surgery quiet when talking to Rainier Mountaineering, Inc., as he felt RMI might not let him climb. John had great success on Mt. Rainier summiting on a day that turned many other teams around...very windy, icy and cold. That climb fueled John's imagination and it wasn't long before John and Jon Shea were discussing a plan to prepare for Everest.
Orizaba, March 2008 - At 18,701 feet tall, Pico De Orizaba is North America's 3rd highest peak. Most people are very surprised to find out it is located only a short drive from Mexico City. This was the second climb that John and Jon Shea completed together. At over 4,000 feet taller than Washington's Mt. Rainier, this climb gave John a sense of how he would do at a higher altitude.
Cathedral Ledge, April 2008 - New Hampshire is home to many famous climbing locales. Most infamously, Mt. Washington sits close by with it unassuming summit and altitude, however very severe weather. Cathedral Ledge is a 300+ foot granite cliff that sits just outside of North Conway. Here, Jon Shea and John climbed the classic route, Thin Air. John was introduced to belaying, multi-pitch technical rock climbing, rappelling and a number of other skills that would come in handy on later climbs.
Mt. Hood, May 2008 - Jon Shea and John were joined by John's personal trainers Aaron Manheimer and Craig Walter to climb Leuthold's Couloir on Mt. Hood. This climb follows a steep Couloir above the Reid Glacier. Here John practiced steeper climbing with lots of technical rope work. John's trainers walked away with a summit of Mt. Hood and a much better understanding of what John puts his body through while climbing. This allowed Aaron Manheimer to customize John's training schedule to better fit John's goals.
Mt. Rainier, July 2008 - Back to Mt. Rainier! John participated in an expedition seminar that climbed the Kautz Glacier on Mt. Rainier. During this six-day seminar, John gained even more instruction in knots, anchors, belays, crevasse rescue and many other advanced mountaineering skills. The climb itself was a good test of John's mountain savvy. A nasty storm descended on the mountain on the fourth day covering the group's tents with inches of frozen rain. Summit day itself was very windy which added an extra challenge to the already steep Kautz Ice Chute. A second successful summit of Mt. Rainier gave John more confidence in the skills he had been perfecting.
Mt. Shuksan, August 2008 - Dr. Brian Cole and his assistant Kyle Pilz joined John and Jon Shea for this climb. A climb of the Fisher Chimneys on Mt. Shuksan required a combination of the climbing skills John had learned to date. Moderate multi-pitch rock climbing, combined with glacier travel, rappelling and a VERY LONG summit day was the perfect test for John to learn if his hard work had paid off. Dr. Cole and Kyle were able see their work in action (John's knee), while participating in the experience of a lifetime for themselves.
Ama Dablam, September 2008 - John and Jon Shea's first trip to the Himalayas! This trip's aim was to take all of John's learning and apply it in the big mountains of the Himalayas. While not especially tall at just over 22,000 feet, Ama Dablam is a demanding technical climb. This climb required that John be fluent in knots, running belays, fixed line travel and moderate rock and ice climbing at high altitude. While the expedition was turned from the summit, John did make it to the top of the yellow tower (the crux of the route at nearly 20,000 feet) in demanding conditions. John and Jon Shea returned from this trip excited after having been within eyesight of Everest.
