My Climbing Credentials

If it were a prerequisite that you summit Everest before you are allowed to write about Mallory & Irvine, then only Reinhold Messner would have that honor. I know hundreds of summit veterans have written books about the mountain, but they all write about their journeys. Messner writes quality work about more than just being the first to summit without oxygen.

What are my credentials for writing a story about a climbing legend who became the first person to stand on the summit of Everest? Unless you are a climber, and familiar with the vernacular, they may not make much sense but here goes:

I’ve Red Pointed and Flashed between 5.7 and 5.9. As with most climbers, I have a long list of accomplished routes with inappropriate names like “The Devil’s Kitten’s Hairball” and “Jeremy Barfed Here.” While sitting on a four inch ledge on the diamond face of Long’s Peak, I made Kool-Aide. I can heel hook, pull a wicked dyno, do a sick crimp and all the usual moves performed by all the usual suspects. The difference between me and them, they hang out at the mall, I watched the moon landing live.