"We need focus, we need something to look forward to, something to plan for. That's what I like, it gets me excited."
Ed Viesturs thrives on the pursuit of long-term goals, a mind-set that has propelled him—without the aid of supplemental oxygen—to the top of 13 of the world's 14 mountains that rise more than 8,000 meters (26,250 feet) above sea level. In the spring of 2005 he aims to check off his list Annapurna, a peak that rises 8,091 meters (26,545 feet) in the Himalaya of Nepal.
If successful, the feat will spell the completion of Viesturs's Endeavor 8,000, a project that he started in 1994. But if Viesturs decides that reaching the last summit on his list is too risky, he'll turn away, content his goal was well pursued. "I enjoy the process," he said. "People who are successful in any way enjoy the process."
French climber Maurice Herzog's book
Annapurna, an account of the first ascent of an 8,000-meter peak, in 1950, hooked Viesturs on mountaineering. At the time, Viesturs was a high school student in the flatlands of Rockford, Illinois. "After reading it, the one thing I wanted to do was learn enough, train enough, to go on one Himalaya expedition," he said.
In 1977 Viesturs enrolled at the University of Washington in Seattle to pursue an undergraduate degree in zoology. But he admits that Mount Rainier, a 14,410-foot (4,392- meter) glaciated volcano, was his chief attraction to the Pacific Northwest. Rainier was visible from Viesturs's dorm window, and he went to the mountain at every chance, reaching its summit for the first time in the winter of 1979.
Viesturs landed a job as a guide for Rainier Mountaineering, Inc., in 1981, ultimately climbing the mountain 192 times. In 1987 he graduated from Washington State University with a doctorate degree in veterinary medicine and worked at two practices in Seattle. But his addiction to the mountains too frequently pulled him from work to climb in the Himalaya. Finally, in early 1989, he decided to focus his energy on the mountains full-time.
Several months later, in May 1989, he stood on the summit of Kanchenjunga, an 8,586-meter (28,169-foot) peak in Nepal, his first summit over 8,000 meters. Viesturs then turned his attention to reaching the summits of other 8,000-meter peaks, including Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain at 8,850 meters (29,035 feet). He first reached the summit of Everest in 1990—without the use of supplemental oxygen. This May he became one of only two non-Sherpas to summit Everest six times.
Medical examinations show that Viesturs's body is phenomenally suited to performing well at high altitude. This physical adaptation, combined with a keen sense of how to manage risk to reap the rewards mountains offer, allows him to flourish in the pursuit of their summits—and return alive.
"Getting to the top doesn't count if you don't get down," he said.
