WREX.com – Rockford’s News LeaderRockford native makes good on Mt. Everest promise with Stephen Colbert
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13News Anchor Eric Wilson sits down with Ed Viesturs during a November 2006 interview
Rockford native Ed Viesturs picked for the April 2009 cover of "Outside" magazine
Ed Viesturs on top of Mt. Everest (Picture courtesy of Ed Viesturs)By Eric Wilson
ROCKFORD (WREX) - A Rockford native proves when he makes a promise he keeps it.
The deal Ed Viesturs made involves a flag, Mt. Everest, and one of Comedy Central's most popular shows.
Viesturs has been to Everest 11 times, and made it to the top 7. We've told you Ed's story before. Last time, the East High School graduate had just released a book recapping his climbs up the 14 tallest mountains in the world. He's the first american to do that, all without carrying an oxygen tank up with him.
"I've always had different unique opportunities that kind of took me back to Everest," Viesturs says.
This time the opportunity was climbing with an Eddie Bauer team this May, developing, designing, and testing new equipment called "First Ascent". Everest was the real proving ground. Ed calls it a great opportunity. It also came about a month before his 50th birthday.
When asked if that makes his 7th summit more special Viesturs replies, "It's special knowing that I'm pretty sure it's going to be my last time. So i kind of absorbed the whole event and made sure at the summit I took a look around and said, 'ok i don't think i'll be here again.' It's been a big part of my career."
Ed was recognized recently for that career by "Outside" magazine in their "Icons of Adventure" feature. He got the cover, over people like Lance armstrong.
"To be on the cover of "Outside", I mean for an adventurer like me that's kind of the magazine to be associated with."
And while he may be done with Everest, he's still going to climb, juggling adventures with spending time with his wife Paula and their 3 kids.
"We as the "First Ascent" Eddie Bauer team plan to go to Antarctica to do some climbing so that would be a year from this November. But a week from now I'm climbing Mt. Rainier. It's a big fundraiser for United Way."
Viesturs presented Colbert a picture of him with the flag on top of Everest on Thursday night's Colbert Report.
To follow more of Ed's climbing check out one of these websites:
www.uwkc.org/climb/default.asp
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