Morice sets his sights on Everest

Okanagan Sunday By J.P. SQUIRE

Kelowna triathlete plans to climb the Seven Summits, twice


Ryan Morice wants to go down in history by going up Mount Everest without using supplementary oxygen. Not only that, but his master plan is to climb all Seven Summits. Not just once but twice.

The 39-year-old Kelowna triathlete plans to climb to the top of the world’s highest mountain (at 29,035 feet) in 2012 and also compete in the Penticton Ironman (for
the sixth time) the same year.

He laughs when asked if his Everest ascent is meant to celebrate another milestone,his 40th birthday. “Not intentionally,but it is that year so I’m going to make it big. Yeah.” It wasn’t a lifelong dream “because I was never fond of the cold,” Morice said last week. “That’s why I did triathlon training
in the summer.”

He actually set his Everest goal four years ago, starting the planning process, lining up sponsors, collecting gear and intensifying his training while getting used to the cold, all while working at Okanagan outdoor stores and other retailers. “It’s a challenge to fit it all in,” he admitted. “I use triathlon training, Ironman training as part of that preparation. And now that I’ve done Ironman five times, I used that as endurance training,” he said.

“In the summer, I still do triathlon training. And in the winter, I switch to snowshoeing, weightlifting, hiking, cardio and general fitness to try to be as  aerobically efficient as I can be, hoping not to use the supplementary oxygen. I want to be as fit as I can.”

Only 100 climbers have made it to the top of Everest without oxygen, including one woman, Lydia Bradey, in 1988. About 500 people a year try to reach the summit with one-in-four or about 125 successful. Four hundred try the Nepal side and 100 the more difficult Tibet side that Morice has chosen.

Between 2,000 and 3,000 climbers have ever reached the top of Everest. By comparison,about 50,000 people a year climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa at 19,340 feet. As of January 2010, 275 climbers have done the Seven Peaks .

This is his big preparation year. He plans to compete in the Boise Marathon in May, then climb Mount Whitney in California (14,505 feet), the highest mountain in the contiguous U.S. After triathlon training during the summer months, he will head back to Colorado in September and do more of the 14,000-foot peaks.In October, he plans  to head to Nepal and do a practise run to the base camp. Then, in November and December, he plans to climb Cerro Aconcagua — at 22,841 feet, the highest mountain in the South American Andes — twice.

“I figure while I’m there...,” he said,adding: “I’ll use the first time as practice. For Kilimanjaro, as an example, I’ll try to run up as far as possible in January.” His “grand plan” is to do all of the so-called Seven Summits — the highest mountain peaks on the seven continents — twice. “I don’t think anyone has done them two times.”

Timing is crucial. Everyone climbs Everest in May, the lull between storms.“What I would like to do is head there toward the end of March 2012 and spend a couple of  weeks treking into the Nepal base camp as preparation, join the rest of the team and then we go in from the Tibet side,” said Morice. The team — strangers to each  other — will come from around the world. Their guide is an Australian. They would spend about a month acclimatizing at the Tibet base camp, elevation 21,000 feet, then gradually move up the mountain and preparing for “summit day” toward the end of May.

“Generally, there’s about a dozen climbers on a team and then you’ve got 20 Serpas carrying all the stuff. You meet them once you get to the base camp or Katmandu or wherever we join up,” said Morice.
“They try and get you to buddy up with at least one other person. When you do the climb, you go up as small teams, maybe three or four with the guiding Serpas. So you want to have someone you work well with because you’re supporting each other.”

The cost of the trek from the Tibet side is $50,000 and the Nepal side, $70,000. “And you pay three months in advance,” Morice said with a grin. Plus the cost of top-of-the-line equipment: boots $450, jacket $940, pants $500, mitts $250, sleeping bag $950, and additional gear, $5,000. His Yeti jacket, for example, is touted as “the warmest jacket on earth.”

“I’ve got amazing sponsors; they’ve been very supportive. I tried to choose the bestof-the-best in each category: Valhalla Pure for gear, Vital Waters with water,  Lifestyle Chiropractic and Good Feet arch supports,” he said. “I keep saying that climbing the mountain is going to be easy after raising the money. It’s like ‘Now,  all I’ve got to do is just go climb the mountain. The rest is done.’”

The four-year process seems to be going faster and faster all the time. “Three years ago, I was like ‘I’ve got three years.’ Two years ago, I could start to feel ‘Now,  it’s two years away.’ As soon as 2011 turned, then it’s like ‘It’s one year away.’ It’s really hit me. Lots to do but I will be ready. Neither wind nor sleet nor hail nor rain will keep me from my duty,” he said with another laugh.

Morice has already established a Facebook group called Adventure Capital, reflecting not only the money it will cost him and the adventure but climbing the capitals of  the world’s mountain peaks.
He will also launch a website: http://www.adventurecapital.ca/, in the near future with updates, photos and videos of his journey. “I wanted a catchy name and the play on words. A video documentary crew will follow us and hopefully, it ends up on the Discovery channel,” he said.