Ex-Saints WR Mark Pattison planning for ‘Seven Summits’ at Everest
Mark Pattison finished his last look at Friday before leaving for the ultimate trek of his journey up the mountain.
If all goes perfectly, the former NFL large receiver will attain the summit of Mount Everest, the maximum mountain in the world, and neighboring Lhotse. That feat would place him in an elite club of hikers who have arrived at the “seven summits,” this means they have climbed the maximum peak on all seven continents in the world.
“My confidence has been constructing tremendously, trying to examine off the bins of the unknown, of what’s forward,” Pattison instructed United states Today’s Tom Schad on Monday from a little village in Nepal.
“My brain, the way I’m wired, I’m incredibly significantly the optimist. And so I never see a situation where by I really don’t see myself on leading of both equally Everest and Lhotse.”
What are the 7 summits?
Only about 500 individuals have hit all seven peaks, in accordance to NPR, and Pattison would be the next former NFL participant to pull that feat off, for every United states of america Currently. Former defensive lineman Craig Hanneman did so in 2019.
The 7 mountains on the list are:
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Australia | Mount Kosciuszko — 7,310 ft.
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Antarctica | Mount Vinson — 16,050 ft.
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Russia, Europe | Mount Elbrus — 18,510 ft.
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Tanzania, Africa | Mount Kilimanjaro — 19,341 ft.
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Alaska, North America | Mount McKinley (Denali) — 20,310 ft.
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Argentina, South The us | Mount Aconcagua — 22,841 ft.
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Napal/Tibet, Asia | Mount Everest — 29,032 ft.
There is no right order in climbing the 7 mountains, and no time restrict. A single should basically make it to the top rated of every single mountain in their lifetime.
Pattison, per United states of america Nowadays, 1st did Mount Kilimanjaro in 2013. He then went to Europe, Australia and South The us. Denali was upcoming, though that took him two attempts owing to climate, before he went to Antarctica in 2019.
Everest ‘throws every little thing at you’
Pattison expended a few seasons in the league from 1986-88, and used time with he Los Angeles Raiders, Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints. The former College of Washington standout recorded 12 profession receptions and 152 yards in excess of 18 games.
The 59-12 months-aged now serves as an executive for Maven and Sporting activities Illustrated.
Now on the cusp of his intention, Pattison is facing by considerably the toughest journey of the 7 climbs.
According to The New York Times, two climbers died Wednesday on the mountain’s “death zone,” which sits above 26,000 ft. They marked the to start with deaths of the climbing time. For each the report, 11 persons died striving to make the trek in 2019.
“It throws anything at you — from avalanches to crevasses to ice walls that you have to climb, to altitude,” Pattison reported, by means of Usa Today. “You have just received to be on your sport, and you have received to know what you are undertaking, in get to have a prosperous result.”
Being aware of how unsafe the climb is, Pattison and his staff are using it slow and have been at it systematically for months. Although that is grueling, he is aware of persistence is the very best way forward.
“I’m going back to those people corny college football and qualified football cliches,” Pattison stated, by using Usa Now. “Just one action at a time. Just one recreation at a time. Do not look [too far] in advance.”
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