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Rhys Jones Interview - 7 Questions for a 7 Summiteer

Rhys Jones, age 20, the youngest person to climb the 7 Summits in 2006

Written by Tom Briggs, November 2007

Over 20 �Seven Summiteers� have climbed at least one of the mountains with Jagged Globe. Rhys Jones became the youngest person in the world to complete the Seven Summits, when he summited Everest on his 20th birthday. We asked Rhys what it takes to become a successful Seven Summiteer.

1. When did you first decide to attempt the Seven Summits?
�I didn�t know about the seven until I�d done Denali, when I was 16, then I thought, �One day I want to climb Everest. I�ve done Denali, why not try and climb the other 5 summits in between�. It�s an unusual first expedition, a baptism by fire really, but up until that I�d done 3 winters climbing in Scotland, and a trip to the Alps, plus lots of general hill walking.�

2. Briefly outline your build up to Everest, including any other training or mountains that you climbed along the way as preparation.
�I always thought as all the other mountains as preparation, so the Seven Summits made a nice build up:
Every February Scottish Winter climbing.
July 2002 Three weeks in the Swiss Alps.
June 2003 Denali.
December 2003 Aconcagua � turned around at 6,700m due to tiredness and cold.
January 2004 Kilimanjaro.
July 2004 Three weeks in the Swiss Alps.
November 2004 Kosciusko.
January 2005 Aconcagua.
July 2005 Mt Elbrus.
October 2005 Cho Oyu � retreated at 7,300m due to high winds and losing high camp in a storm.
December 2005 Mt Vinson.
May 2006 Mt Everest � summited 17th May.�

3. Describe your toughest day in the mountains?
�My toughest day was summit day on Denali. I had some altitude sickness and was totally exhausted and dehydrated. It was -40� and windy, and took us 17 hours. Since then my stamina and mental strength have improved massively.�

4. You lost very little weight on Everest. Would you say you are physiologically suited to high altitude mountaineering?
�Yes I think I am suited to high altitude mountaineering. As each expedition went by, although I never got stronger at altitude, I seemed to get less weak every time. But I�ve never found living at say, 7,000 metres easy. I don�t think people are supposed to be that high, and you�re body reminds you of that constantly. As far as the weight loss goes, I think a large part of that was the fact that we had an unimaginably comfortable Base Camp on Everest, and so much good food we could have eaten from dawn until dusk on every rest day. That made a huge difference to our performance on the mountain, and it was just nice to have somewhere with relative luxuries.�

5. What did you enjoy the most about the experience of climbing the Seven Summits?
�It was fantastic travelling around the world � it�s a great excuse to go all over the place. The actual climbing experiences and summits were a big draw each time, but the best bit was climbing with so many different people, form different walks of life, and being bonded so closely by a really intense experience � those relationships are great.�

6. What have you been up to since completing your Seven Summits?
�Just after I got back from Everest, I did a none-stop 2,000 mile ocean yacht race (I�d never sailed before), as I fancied a new challenge. In August 2007 I sailed to East Greenland. We had an amazing trip and took in a number of unclimbed peaks and new routes. It was great adventure. In the future I�d like to go back to Everest Base Camp to show friends the route, and I�d love to climb Ama Dablam.�

7. What advice would you give to someone who is considering trying to climb all Seven?
�Once you�re inspired and determined you obviously need to be pretty fit, and be prepared to give up your weekends to get into the hills. You need really good �tent admin� to make life on the mountains comfortable. That�s more useful then technical ability or fitness, because if your gear is dry and ice free, you�ll climb a lot better. Finally, you need to find the cash. Either you have it, or more likely you�ll be trying to persuade someone to pay for your trip. That�s another skill entirely! Most of all, don�t give up. If it was easy, everyone would do it.�

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