Steve and the Tank! - Interview With Mountain Climber Garry Porter (Part I)

Interview With Mountain Climber Garry Porter (Part I)

Steve and the Tank caught up with Garry Porter, a mountain climber from the Seattle, Washington area. Steve met Garry at Mt. Everest Base camp in the fall of 2003 when Garry was attempting to summit the tallest mountain in the world. Garry lives on a small farm in Washington. His hobbies are mountain climbing (duh!), mountain biking, sailing, running and restoration of old cars. Married to Nadine Porter for 42 years. Two children, a daughter Danette and a son Christopher. Four grandchildren, 2 boys and 2 girls. Retired from Boeing after 34 years as an executive responsible for the NATO AWACS program. Masters degree in engineering from Air Force Institute of Technology, undergraduate degree from University of Nebraska. Climbing experiences: Multiple summits on Mt. Rainier, summits on Aconcagua (Argentina), Mt. McKinley/Denali (Alaska), Cotopaxi (Ecuador), Island Peak (Nepal), Cho Oyu (Tibet), Huayana Potosi, Alpamayo, and Illimani (Bolivia), Ama Dablam and Loboche (Nepal), and Ishinca, Urus, Tocllaraju, Chopicalqui, Ausangate (Peru).

This is the first of a three part interview.

WHY DO YOU THINK STEVE ASKED YOU TO WRITE FOR THE BLOG? To be honest, I haven’t a clue. I didn’t reach the final summit of Everest because we were turned back by high winds on our second attempt on Nov. 3, 2003. But Steve and I trekked together to Everest base camp and the following year I took Steve and his friend Kevin to the summit of Mt. Rainier. Maybe he thinks he owes me something. So I guess my message is for those of you who read his blog, if summiting is your only criteria for “success” on Everest, then I’m not your boy. So you just as well go watch reruns of Oprah. However, if you want some reasonable information about Everest from someone who almost made it, then maybe I’ve got something to say. But I also want to provide one overriding message. I consider myself a pretty ordinary guy. If I can do it, then anyone who trains, gets the prerequisite mountain climbing experience and has strong legs and lungs and a weak mind, has a reasonable chance at the highest mountain in the world. As Steve will tell you, I am not a super jock kind of guy in size or strength, I’m relatively old by climbing standards (will be 65 in 2007) and I am of limited financial resources in that I am retired from the aerospace industry 7 years ago. But I have spent the last 15 years gaining experience higher and higher on mountains, am in relatively good physical condition and am incredibly tenacious when it comes to sucking it up when you must in order to keep moving higher. So with that short introduction, I will proceed to answer Steve and the Tank’s questions.

Steve and the Tank: Well we wanted you to write because you have a great story to tell! Anyway, let's start with an easy one. WHY DO YOU CLIMB MOUNTAINS?

Where do you start to answer this question without sounding trite? For me, the answer is not “because it’s there”. For me, it’s a passion that has evolved and one of the major reasons I retired early. Mountain climbing exposes you to the most absolutely stunning environment in parts of the world that you would not normally get to experience. It will expose you to different cultures, beliefs and religions (which always help me to put in perspective the over abundance that we enjoy (and take for granted) in our society). It will also help you learn about yourself, what your limits are and how you respond to physical and mental challenges in an extremely hostile environment.

S&TT: HOW DID YOU GET INTO MOUNTAIN CLIMBING? From the time I was a kid in the Midwest, camping and backpacking was part of my life. Living in the Northwest, with Mt. Rainier in my backyard, it was only natural to want to extend my love of the outdoors with mountain climbing. When my son was growing up, we went on week long backpacking trips together, and when someone offered us a chance to join them on a climb of Mt. Rainier, we jumped at the opportunity. My first mountain climbing experience was a summit of Mt. Rainier with my 14 year old son. It was one of my proudest moments as a father. I was hooked on mountain climbing from then on.

S&TT: WHAT WAS GOING THRU YOUR MIND ON THOSE DAYS LEADING UP TO EVEREST BASE CAMP? Trekking to base camp is a mixture of fun and anticipation of the struggle that lies ahead. It’s a chance to enjoy the scenery, the people you met along the way and the rich thick atmosphere of lower elevations. Good food, fun people to meet and share experiences and ideas, and the excitement of what lies ahead. It’s also a time to get your mental and spiritual life in synch. I don’t know why, but in the small mountain villages and ancient Buddhist monasteries I find more spiritual connection than any church that I’ve ever been in. As part of the trek to base camp, we had a private meeting with Lama Geisha. The lama is one of the most educated lamas in Nepal and spoke to us of the significance of our climb and said he would offer a prayer for us every day until he returned. He also presented us a special small gift to be worn around our neck for good luck with the statement that we had to believe in order for us to be protected. It was a really deep spiritual experience for me and our group and part of the mental preparation for what lies ahead. Even Steve was unusually moved. But the trek is mostly about playing, relaxing and enjoying life at its fullest.

S&TT: I WAS MOVED THAT DAY. I STILL HAVE THE STRING AROUND MY NECK 3 YEARS LATER. DESCRIBE BASE CAMP. WHAT SUPPLIES DO YOU TAKE WITH YOU? WHAT DID YOU LEAVE AT BASE CAMP? Base camp on Everest is at 17,300 ft. elevation, and is essentially rock and scree on top of ice. It is a moving glacier that creaks and groans and is constantly moving and changing. It’s also an area where you hear avalanches crashing day and night. It’s gray, cold and initially difficult to move around until you get acclimated to the elevation. But it’s home for the next 60 plus days and it’s a luxury in comparison to what lies ahead. It has a cook tent, a dining tent, a communication tent and an open shower tent. You have your own tent so there is lots of room to get organized but since you are essentially sleeping on ice, the tent has to be moved periodically because your body heat is causing the ice to melt below your sleeping bag. It’s also home to a lot of trekkers that are visiting Everest base camp for the first time. On good weather days, we could see 20-30 visitors to our camp each day. Most respected that base camp was our home, others just walked in like they owned it. I finally had to tell one trekker that I didn’t mind that he smoked in front of our dining tent if he didn’t mind if I farted in his face. He got the message. But base camp is a wonderful home for the time you are there.

S&TT: DESCRIBE THE PROCESS OF ACCLIMATION. Your body needs to get use to the effects of elevation gradually and this becomes more important the higher you climb. So you use a technique called “climb high and sleep low”. This means you carry gear higher on the mountain, leave it and then return to lower camp to sleep. The next day, you climb to where you left your gear and spend the night or several nights there to acclimate. Then you repeat this process to “leap frog” your way up the mountain. Gradually your body acclimates to the higher elevations and what was once intolerable becomes acceptable to your body. One other technique I use to acclimate is to climb using a “rest step” technique combined with what is called “pressure breathing” to help your body adjust to the lower air pressure of higher elevations. By using the rest step technique you are trying to get your body into a rhythm that allows you to keep moving for hours, days, and weeks without burning out. It’s not fast, but it’s consistent. One thing that doesn’t get better is the loss of appetite and there is not much you can do about it. If you are a runner, then you know that you burn about 1,000 calories per hour and probably more when you are climbing. So, on a typical climbing day you may burn 8,000 or 10,000 calories and there is no way you are going to be able to eat enough to replace the calories, especially since your appetite decreases dramatically. Consequently, you will experience a major weight loss on these longer expeditions. I have lost as much as 28 pounds on climbing trips, which is significant because you know you are losing critical muscle mass and resultant strength and endurance.

S&TT: WHAT ROLE DO GUIDES AND PORTERS PLAY? On major expeditions, for me, guides make the difference between success, failure and safety. They know the environment, the safe conditions for climbing and when to go and when to hold up. I believe it is absolutely stupid to consider a major climb without the use of qualified guides (unless you have some form of a death wish). I know people who attempt major mountains without a guide, and if all goes absolutely perfect, then they do OK. But things going absolutely perfect is not the real world on major mountains and having the experience and expertise of a guide becomes critical to the success of the trip. I like to think that if I take care of myself, have prepared for the climb to the absolute maximum of my ability, then I can let all the decision making be done by the experts. Saves a lot of mental wear and tear on the climb. As far as the sherpas are concerned, they are absolutely the hardest working, most gentle people that you will ever meet. They laugh, they are extremely playful and in a sense, very innocent. They do all the hard work of setting up camps, fixing rope, hauling all the heavy loads and then we, Westerners, claim all the glory of the summit. I can not say enough good things about them. The success of the trip is absolutely dependent on good sherpas.

S&TT: WHAT IS LIFE LIKE AT CAMPS 1-4? Camp 1 is a temporary camp at the top of the ice fall at 19,500 feet. The ice fall starts essentially a short distance from base camp and is one of the awesome sights on Everest. It is also where more deaths occur on Everest than any other part of the mountain. It has huge crevasses to cross on multiple ladders lashed together, avalanches falling on both sides of you and huge ice seracs the size of houses waiting to fall over. It is generally a very “thrilling” area.

We went thru it 10 times and each time was exciting and each time I joked that God must have a purpose for me yet because I gave him plenty of chances to take me today. On our first climb thru the ice fall we were snowed in at camp 1 and spent several days there which was fine because it helped us acclimate to the higher elevation before we moved up to camp 2. From then on, we climbed directly thru the ice fall to camp 2/ Advance Base Camp at 21,500 feet. As you move up the mountain, the relative luxury of base camp disappears, the good food becomes sparse and the environment less pleasant. But at camp 2, we had a cook tent and full time cook but the food is mostly freeze dried and less appetizing plus your appetite is starting to fail. Camp 3 at 23,600 is hanging off Lhotze face and is a very cold miserable place to stay. In fact the sherpas will not stay there and prefer to climb direct from camp 2 to 4. Camp 3 is a couple of tents carved into the ice face of Lhotze and headache city deluxe. The first time we were there, we were packed three people to a tent and it seemed that the wind was trying to tear our tents off the mountain all night. I kept wondering that with the high winds, would we ever be able to make it down to camp 2 in the daylight. Next morning it was relatively calm but very cold and we returned quickly to the relative comfort of Advanced Base Camp and then descended the next morning to Base Camp. This was our final preparation for our first summit attempt.

The summit camp or Camp 4 at the South Col at 26,000 is a huge rock strewn football sized field located between Nupste and the West face of Everest. It is a wind tunnel waiting for wind to make it unliveable. It’s quite large and relatively flat with a great view of the triangular face of Everest. Pretty exciting place because the summit is “only” 3,000 feet higher. Cold, but not much snow when we were there, and by the time I arrived from camp 3, I didn’t spend a lot of time outside the tent. But it’s the summit camp and you will spend a short night there before you head for the summit. It is also your recovery camp after the summit.

Tomorrow we talk about summit day.

Interviews | Mountain Climbing

Monday, November 20, 2006 10:06:12 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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