Never Stop Climbing

Alan Arnette makes his home in Colorado, where he climbs frequently. He’s been a regular visitor to some of the highest mountains in the world – Denali, Shishapangma, Aconcagua, Orizaba and Everest and others. His web site is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in climbing. Alan has used the attention his climbs have received to raise funds and awareness for the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. He has also been a significant resource for us as we prepared to launch Never Stop Climbing and we were thrilled he agreed to this interview. – John

You started climbing rather late in life at 38. How difficult was it for you to get fit and how do you stay climbing-ready (or close to it) today?

I had always tried to stay in decent shape but with a job that had me on the road 3 days a week and crossing continents it was tough – very tough. I was your basic weekend warrior, climbing whenever I could. The funny thing is that I excelled at cross-country and track in high school but stopped cold once I started working and never really exercised diligently until I started climbing around age 38.

Once I started climbing, running and climbing became my focus. While on the road I would work out in hotel gyms on the weights then run the hotel stairs late at night – I was always afraid I would get arrested! Today my basic routine is climbing (what else?) and lot’s of time on the elliptical machine since my knees will not let me do the long runs anymore.

You wrote that “Mountains test your essence.” How has your understanding of yourself changed after dozens of climbs?

Climbing, especially hard routes or at extreme altitudes tends to focus your mind on what is important to you. I am fond of saying that I have turned back on more mountains than stood on the summit. That is ok with me. I thoroughly enjoy the overall experience and the summit is a bonus not the measure of success – for me. While my absolute goal on a big climb is to summit safely, I don’t dwell on it if I don’t get there as long as I gave it my best effort.

Can you point to a particular climb or moment where you started to gather real confidence in your ability to take on difficult high-altitude climbs?

Yes, it was on my climb of Ama Dablam in 2000. I saw it a few years before and considered it impossible for me given my skills. However, I made the summit in good style and while trekking through the Khumbu on the way home my guide, David Hiddleston, asked me if I had ever thought about Everest. Of course I had but never admitted it to anyone. But with his simple question and my safe summit of Ama Dablam, a seed was planted that would influence me for the rest of my life.

Approaching Camp 3 on Ama Dablam, Nepal

You’ve expressed some regret that your focus on Himalayan goals distracted you from some of the climbing opportunities in South America. Do you have plans in the region beyond Aconcagua and your other climbs? Would you have liked to have tackled some of the mountains there earlier in your climbing career?

While I have climbed and trekked in South America three times I still prefer the Himalayas. Both have incredible mountains and offer world-class challenges but the people of the Himalaya mountain villages stand out to me. They live in such simple conditions yet have such big smiles and unselfish attitudes that I always leave there for the better. That said, one day I would like to attempt the high peaks of Peru.

Alan on the summit of Acancagua

In reading your dispatches it quickly becomes apparent that you are a very deliberate and cautious climber. Can you point to any single event where your judgment failed you and you made what could have been a critical mistake? If so, how did that event impact your climbing style from that point forward?

I try to be aware and cautious on my climbs both for my own safety as well as that of my teammates. I think it is each climber’s responsibility not to put yourself in a rescue situation or to assume others will take care of you in a crisis.

Coming down to Camp 1 on Cho Oyu in 1998 after our summit bid, I had a very heavy pack and became careless. While on a ridge above the Camp 1, I deliberately did not clip into the fixed rope thinking it was safe terrain and I was in complete control. Well, I tripped over my own feet and went sprawling towards a 3,000’ drop-off. Thankfully I self arrested my fall at the edge of the ridge. It was at that point that I vowed never to become over-confident again.

Alan on Broad Peak, Pakistan

In 1997 you helped bury 42 year old climber Alex Yaggi who, if I read it correctly, died unexpectedly in his sleep after a successful summit. You obviously struggled with this event and its implications in your 2002 Death on Everest essay. Are your feelings about death and risk in climbing still evolving or is the issue resolved for you?

Not an expedition goes by when at some point I think about Alex. While I never knew him well, I knew him well enough that his death was a shock to my very essence. Deaths occur on all mountains and happen to climbers from amateur to professional. It is part of the contract of serious climbing. The lesson I learned from burying Alex is that you never know what toll high altitude can take on you so be as prepared as you can and err on the side of caution.

You climb in support of the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. Are you satisfied with your charity efforts so far and what advice would you give folks like ourselves who wish to climb for a cause?

It is a great honor to climb to raise money for Alzheimer’s. I recently visited my mother who is suffering from the disease and I am more determined than ever to help find a way to prevent this from happening to future generations.

The Cure Alzheimer’s Fund was a great partner in getting the word out about my ‘Road Back to Mt. Everest: Memories Are Everything’ five climb journey but there is so much more we can do.

My best advice would be to find a nationwide partner who is willing to promote your effort to as many people as possible. Fund raising, especially in tough economic times, is a numbers game so you need to reach as many people as possible to raise the money.

You are a self-funded climber. Have you considered working with sponsors?

I was very fortunate to have had a good career that allowed me to climb extensively but I have reached the limits of that model today. I would love to work with a sponsor that would help in the Alzheimer’s fund raising through a partnership with my climbing.

What would you do if a sponsor with deep pockets allowed you to create your dream expedition?

I would attempt the 7 Summits, including a fourth attempt of Everest. While not the most technically challenging climbs, they would present an opportunity to take the Alzheimer’s message to each continent on the planet. Alzheimer’s is a disease that potentially impacts every person on earth as we live longer and longer. The economic impact can easily bankrupt the largest health care systems much less those in smaller countries. It is truly an impending epidemic that we must address before it is too late.

Do you have any big goals in front of you at the moment? What’s next?

Nothing ready to make public but I am always thinking. I am currently doing presentations to schools and anyone who will have me showing my climbing pictures and talking about Alzheimer’s. Also I am staying busy climbing my Colorado mountains. But just when I think it is time to hang up my crampons, I get the itch to return to high altitude. Mountains are special to me and while not every mountain has loved me, I love them all!

Alan lives in Colorado and can be reached at climbing@alanarnette.com. He is available for individual presentations or multi-day workshops including team building, business consulting or individual coaching.