from www.aspendailynews.com - February 8, 2006

Climber Viesturs starts event on high note

By David Frey

Aspen Daily News Correspondent

So how do you climb up a mountain, ski down it, then turn around and climb up again, over and over, for 24 hours straight?

" Hey, take it one step at a time," said mountaineering legend Ed Viesturs.

That's his advice to participants in the 24 Hours of Sunlight endurance event, a grueling trial that will see over 100 participants, as individuals and teams, climb up Glenwood Springs' Sunlight Mountain Resort and ride down as many times as they can this weekend.

" I don't think they should look at the very end," Viesturs said. "I think they should do it at the moment. I think if they try to look at what they're doing for the whole, they'll say, 'How will I do that?'"

Viesturs will address participants and the public Friday night in an interactive slide show at the Hotel Colorado.
The renowned Seattle resident knows a bit about accomplishing a lot, one step at a time. His steps have taken him up all 14 of the world's tallest summits -- those above 8,000 meters -- making him the first American to do so.

Last May, Viesturs set foot on top of Nepal's 26,658-foot Annapurna and stepped into the history books. He recounted his adventures in his National Geographic book "Himalayan Quest: Ed Viesturs on the 8,000 Meter Giants."

Acclaimed by some as America's greatest climber, Viesturs made his accomplishments that much more extraordinary by summiting all the peaks without the aid of supplemental oxygen, something that only legendary Italian climber Reinhold Messner had accomplished before.

" It was harder, but ultimately I think more challenging and more rewarding," Viesturs said in a telephone interview. "And I think I really could see how far I could push myself physically and mentally."

For Viesturs, an oxygen mask threatened to stand between him and the peaks he was climbing. The breathing apparatus, he feared, would have hampered his sense of freedom. And relying on it could have put him in more danger if it failed.

In the name of "simplicity and purity," Viesturs eschewed bottled oxygen, even in the "death zone" above 8,000 meters where the oxygen is so thin, bodies begin to shut down.

" I wanted to climb the mountain for what it represents rather than reducing it to my level simply to go get to the top," Viesturs said. "I think that was taking away from the mountain itself."

Viesturs' Himalayan quest took him 16 years. His success, he said, came not from being a risk taker but a risk manager. He used a conservative approach to climbing, willing to turn back if the climb seemed too dangerous or the weather too questionable.

" To me that was the key," Viesturs said. "I have a joke I always say: 'Life is too fun to be dead.' For me it's true. Climbing is great and I enjoy it, but I don't want to die on a mountain."

Since completing his quest, Viesturs has foresworn the high peaks in favor of the lower peaks he passed by to reach them. All except for Everest, the highest peak of all and a mountain he has climbed 10 times and may return to again as a guide.

" Imagine how many other beautiful peaks there are that you walk past on the way to the 8,000-meter peaks," he said. "Now I check those out. I don't have to pull off the big ones. I want to check out the smaller ones."

For the past year, though, Viesturs has been laying low, completing a second book, "No Shortcuts to the Top," an autobiography due out next fall.

His story has resonated with mountaineers and non-mountaineers, and he's told it over and over, in book signings and corporate gatherings, and in interviews to People, Newsweek and the Today show.

" He's an amazing guy, I'll tell you that," said Mike Marolt, the Aspen mountaineer who organized the 24 Hours of Sunlight event and asked Viesturs to kick it off. "It's very exciting. I think in this town, there are some unbelievable mountaineers, unbelievable ski mountaineers. I think the term 'world class' gets thrown around. Ed is beyond that."
The two climbed Broad Peak, at 26,400 feet the world's 12th highest peak, in 1997.

" He did it without oxygen, without porters," Marolt said.

For Viesturs, it is the message of living a dream that resonates with his audiences, and a 16-year commitment to a goal.

" If you're passionate about something, no matter how long it takes, you're willing to endure, and when you finish, it's an amazing feeling of satisfaction," he said.

It's a message participants in 24 Hours of Aspen may need to hear, maybe somewhere around 4 a.m. as they trudge up the slope -- again.

" Just take it one at a time," said Viesturs, who will be speaking, but not skiing. "Next thing they'll know, they'll accomplish quite a bit."

The public is invited for $10 to hear his interactive slide show presentation at 8 p.m. at the Hotel Colorado. Tickets go on sale at 7:30 p.m.

Viesturs will also sign his book "Himalayan Quest: Ed Viesturs on the 8,000 Meter Giants," at WestStar Bank, 1901 Grand Ave., next to the Safeway, in Glenwood Springs from 3-5:30 p.m.

The 24 Hours of Sunlight event is still welcoming participants as individuals or teams. Web site registration has ended, but participants may register at Sunlight Ski and Bike shop in downtown Glenwood Springs. For information, go to www.24hoursofsunlight.com.

dfrey@aspendailynews.com