John Thompson Climbs into Rarified Air

John Thompson was quoted on Atlanta Business Chronicle on December 19, 2014. The article “John Thompson Climbs into Rarified Air” chronicled John’s experience attempting to summit mount Ranier near Seattle.

“Stepping onto the summit of Mount Rainier on the first climb was an amazing feeling,” John recalled. “I really had serious doubts I could do it.”

“It was cold, snowing and some people had altitude sickness,” he said. “Looking back, it was not the best idea to start with Mount Rainier.”

“It’s taught me that I can do more than I would have thought,” John said.

John recalled standing at 5,500 feet, looking up at the summit of Mount Rainier which tops off at 14,400 feet, and wondering: “How am I going to do this?”

“Somehow I got up and got down and to this day it remains the hardest physical thing I ever did,” John said.

“You can’t really acclimatize for the altitude without being there,” he said. “But, you get your cardiovascular system in the kind of condition that it can acclimatize as fast as possible when you do get there.”

Mountaineering is as much about attitude, as it is about physical power.

“I have climbed with people much stronger and more fit than I, who couldn’t get to the top,” John said. “The difference is a desire to get there – some people just don’t seem to have it.”

To read the full article, please visit Atlanta Business Chronicle. [subscription required]