Jeff Mathy's Quest Saturday, July 13, 2002 » Back to DISPATCHES » HOME
Hello cybernauts, this is Vern Tejas with Alpine Ascents Mount Elbrus Expedition, Team UpDogs. Team member Jeff Mathy is with us. He's a pretty remarkable young man and someone I've been very impressed with and I'd like you to get to know him.
Vern: Tell us something about yourself.
Vern: How far along are you in this quest?
I was very close to summitting Mount Everest this year. We had a solid team and we were just about to make our final summit attempt from Base Camp and I ended up getting sick down at Base Camp. I drank some unfiltered, cold lemonade and it was just some bad luck at the end of the trip.
I'm excited to have some really strong sponsorship behind me. Lipton Tea has been supportive of me 100% and they want me to go back next year and try it again. So my confidence is 100% and I'll be happy to spend time with Vern there again next year and I'm going to spend the next year training hard and getting ready for the climb of my life.
Vern:
So ultimately when you accomplish this, what is it going to mean to you? I've always loved camping and backpacking, but climbing at high altitude just makes everything a lot more exciting. It's a huge adventure for me. And part of that is me wanting to share my adventure with others so we set up a website at LiptonT.com where people can go and read dispatches that I give from the mountains. And also I talk to a lot of students at schools, in my hometown and all over, telling them just how great the outdoors is and how much excitement can be found just being out with nature, and enjoying the environment, and preserving it and making sure that it's there for future use. And I'd like to continue talking to students across the nation and spread the word about environmentalism and about just how great mountaineering is as a sport and a personal challenge.'
Vern: Vern Tejas, Alpine Ascents International Guide and Jeff Mathy, Climber, MountainZone.com Correspondents |