Ricky Singh is an amazing man. He climbed Mount Everest and made it back alive on May 21, 2019. Before even considering attempting this feat, Singh went and ran a marathon in every single state. Fifty of them! Doing both of these is a first. Singh says he is also the first American Sikh and second Indian-American to reach the top of the planet. He is also the first Everest summiter I've ever met, which is a far more insignificant accomplishment.
Singh is an extremely spiritual man whose outlook on life needs to be shared during these difficult times. I spoke to him at his home in northern Delaware, a few weeks before the coronavirus outbreak in the US. It is fascinating to hear him take us up the mountain step by step by step.
Recorded on March 5, 2020 in Greenville, Delaware.
In this podcast:
If Singh gets bored easily (1:35), what it is like to be on top of Mount Everest, an area about the size of "three or four ping pong tables" (1:50), some of the many dangers when on top (2:50), the spirituality of being on top of the world (3:30), if he was afraid he would fall off (4:10), the conditions the day he climbed (4:50), why he became such an avid runner and why he decided to complete 50 marathons in 50 states, beginning in 2005 and finishing in 2016 (5:00), the best and worst marathons he ran (7:20), why he stayed away from the bigger races, like the Boston Marathon (8:30), how he keeps in shape (8:45), how he prepared for climbing Everest (9:00), how he dealt with the realization that he might not make it back alive (10:30), his early visits to Nepal to become acquainted with the climate, culture and altitude (11:10), we begin talking about Singh's ascent to Everest in 2019 (14:25), Base Camp - 17,600 feet (14:35), the Khumbu Icefall leading to Camp I (16:12), the Western Cwm leading to Camp II - 21,300 feet - and why it is so hot (16:45), the Lhotse Face to Camp III - 24,500 feet (17:35), arriving at Camp IV - 26,000 feet - and entering the "Death Zone" (18:30), deciding when to leave Camp IV and attempt a summit (20:35), witnessing a dead body on the mountain for the first time and why bodies or trash are not removed (20:55), the Balcony - 27,700 feet - a place of rest (22:15), the Cornice Traverse (23:15), breathing near the summit (23:50), the Hillary Step and why Mother Nature made this part of the climb easier (24:15), how it is one person at a time through this point (25:20), if he would ever look down during his ascent (26:10), why he chose to go up on a day that had poor weather (27:10), what he thought about when he was about to reach the top (28:35), why he only spent about 15 minutes on the summit (29:25), if he took a selfie (30:00), achieving his second goal: making it back down alive (31:00), his injuries from frostbite: the loss of three fingertips (31:48), why we were both surprised that Singh is the first American Sikh and second Indian-American to summit Everest (33:05), what those facts mean to him (33:45), 11 people died while climbing Everest in 2019, does he think there should be more restrictions? (36:00), what's next for Singh, including mentoring other climbers and organizing "ultra-marathons" (27:45), what he learned about himself after his accomplishment (38:53).