Climbing Mount Everest was an idea, born into Steve Whittington’s mind shortly after he summited his first mountain. Ten years later, with more than 40 summits under his belt, including four of the world’s seven major summits, the 39-year-old mountaineer finally realized his dream.
On May 17, 2013, Whittington and his Sherpa Dawa reached the top of the world’s highest peak, 8,848 metres above sea level. Having only a few moments to celebrate, Whittington dedicated the victory to his childhood friend and snapped a couple of photos before beginning a descent.
Whittington and his expedition team had arrived at Everest base camp on March 21. In the six months leading up to the climb, Whittington had trained vigorously, preparing his mind and body for the demands that would be placed upon him. But living on the side of a mountain for 57 days still took a toll on him. Whittington lost 30 pounds and he said that he is still recovering physically.
Being away from the real world was difficult as well.
“I spent an awful lot of time away from my wife so it was nice to come home and see her,” he said. “It makes you realize what is important in life.”
No matter how prepared or experienced a climber may be, the fear of injury and death is always present on Mount Everest. Whittington experienced first hand the uncontrollable power of nature.
“The last night in Camp 3 as we were going up for a final summit push, an avalanche ripped down the Lhotse Face and it was close,” said Whittington. “It was about 7:30 at night and it was dark. That was a terrifying moment for me. It’s so loud. It completely takes over your world and you can’t do anything.”
A life-changing experience
The rewards of climbing Mount Everest outweighed the costs though.
“I have this mental sense of peace,” he said. “I’ve done something that I’ve wanted to do for quite some time and I really do believe that good things are going to enfold in front of me and that I can do what I want to do.”
“It’s about possibility,” he later added. “Some people look at things, whether it’s in life, business, climbing or other sports and say, ‘Well, I can’t do that. I can’t make 100 goals in a season or something like that.’ I don’t look at what can’t be done, I look at what’s possible.”
What’s next?
When asked if he would climb Everest again, Whittington said no. His focus, right now, is on family. That being said, he does have plans to climb the highest peak in Antarctica and eventually complete the seven summits of the world—the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. With Everest under his belt, he only has two more to go.
Whittington is vice-president of marketing for the trailer division of Flaman Group of Companies and he carried the company’s flag to the top of Mount Everest. When he returned from the expedition, to his surprise, the trailer team released a new line of snowmobile trailers—named the Everest Edition in honour of his achievement. Visit the Gear Boxx section of SnoRiders for more information on these special trailers.
To read Whittington’s journal of the climb, visit Quest for Everest.
