Archetypes: Mountaineer Ed Viesturs
On staying fit and preparing for the next step
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CV: Started climbing at age 16 after reading Maurice Herzog’s Annapurna. Moved to Seattle for college in 1977; soon started guiding on Mount Rainier. Finished veterinarian school at Washington State University in 1987. Completed first of seven Everest summits in 1990. Quit practicing as a vet that same year. Became the first American to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks without supplemental oxygen in May 2005.
Vitals:
Age: 54Home: Ketchum, Idaho
Jobs: Mountaineer, motivational speaker, father of four
212: Successful Rainier summits.
Up Next: His new book, The Mountain: My Time on Everest, cowritten with David Roberts, is out this month. He continues to trail run five days a week, bikes frequently, climbs Rainier twice a summer, and works as a design consultant for Eddie Bauer.
On Keeping Fit: “It’s money in the bank. You’re making deposits now that you can draw on when you’re 65, 75. Every day, I work out and go running or biking. If someone says, ‘Ed, can you leave tomorrow to go to Everest?’ I want to be able to say yes.”