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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday March 8, 2008 - 3 One more mountain to climb Oakville resident Scott Kress will face his biggest challenge when he climbs Mount Everest By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Scott Kress is preparing for the mother of all mountains. This spring, the 40-year-old Oakville resident will give his best shot at climbing nearly 30,000 feet to the peak of Mount Everest. With already more than 30 mountains on his climbing resume, Kress knows what to expect. It could be at once the best and worst experience of his life. "I think it will be the toughest thing I've ever done," said Kress, his enormous Everest specific climbing boots on the kitchen table in front of him. "There's going to be moments when you want to quit, you'll feel sick, you're tired, you want to turn around. "In some ways, it will be the worst experience of my life, but at the same time, it will be the best experience of my life." Kress and climbing partner Angus Murray, an outdoor education teacher in British Columbia, will begin their ascent in April. The founder and president of leadership and team-building companies Summit Training & Development and The Frontier Group, Kress' home office is full of pictures of mountains. The most popular mountain in that room: Mount Everest. "I've always wanted to do it," said Kress, who has two children with his wife, Susan. "It's kind of been on my list to do for years. I've always been obsessed with Mount Everest ­ it's the pinnacle of mountaineering. It's not the hardest, but it's the highest." The way Kress sees it, he's been preparing to tackle Everest the past 20 years, climbing high mountains and adjusting to altitudes that challenge the body. He has reached three of the seven highest mountains on each of the seven continents ­ Aconcagua in Argentina, Mount McKinley in Alaska and Mount Kilmanjaro in Africa ­ and is going for a fourth with LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER EYES ON EVEREST: Veteran climber Scott Kress is preparing for his biggest climb yet. In April, the Oakville resident will begin climbing Mount Everest, the world's highest peak at nearly 30,000 feet. Everest. Prior to the climb, Kress and Susan will be transporting goods their daughter Amy's Grade 2 class at St. Marguerite d'Youville collected to donate to an orphanage in Kathmandu. The Grade 2 class takes on a charitable project each year, and chose this particular orphanage because Kress can drop off the items, which include soap, towels, shampoo, crayons, books and more. Once the drop off is complete, the climbing will begin. This marks Kress' third trip to the Himilayas, having previously climbed Cho Oyu and Ama Dablam. And for this particular mountain, Kress has been training ­ running, weights, skiing, snowshoeing ­ you name it. "I've certainly ramped it up for this," he said, smiling. The climb begins in April. He and Murray will be climbing the North West Ridge from Tibet, known, Kress says, as "the climber's route." "It's colder, it's windier, it's more technical. There's not as many people on the North side." It will also be less populated, as part of the torch carrying for the Beijing Olympics will be happening around that time, and less permits are being granted to climbers as a result. Kress and Murray will spend April and May on Everest, preparing and waiting for good weather. "You spend the first six weeks acclimatizing and stocking camps," he said, with essentials like water and oxygen. "For about two or three weeks, you wait for good weather." And by good weather, he means when the winds aren't raging at 150-200 km per hour. That's what happens through most of the year. "There's only a period of about three weeks when you can actually make it to the top without being blown off," said Kress. Then there's the added trouble of avalanches, and the fact that many people turn around because of frostbite. These are factors Kress and Murray will try to control as much as they can. "There are times when I will lie awake at night and think about all these things, but I think we put this together really well," he said. "It's just exciting to think it's finally going to happen." And even if they don't make the summit, Kress says the experience will still be worth it. "Ultimately, it's about going to Everest. The summit is the icing on the cake." He's pretty sure he'll be enjoying that icing, though. "I've been training hard, and hopefully we'll have everything in place to make it happen," he said. There are a lot of factors to consider. Kress expects to lose up to 30 pounds while climbing Everest, so he's putting on as much muscle as he can now. The weight loss ­ though he tries to stave it off by eating lots of chocolate, butter and other fatty foods while climbing ­ is because he doesn't just climb the mountain once. "By the time you climb the mountain, See When page 5 PREPARE FOR THE ROAD AHEAD. N Next course: F March F March 11, 12, 13, 14, 4 Days 9:30 a.m.-4:15 p.m. 25, 2 Days 6:00 p.m.-9:15 p.m. MTO APPROVED BEGINNER DRIVER EDUCATION COURSE PROVIDER www.youngdrivers.com 905.845.7200