Kids Alive supporter Rick Poole has now exceeded Noah’s “40 day” record! Unlike Noah, however, Rick is not in an ark on water, but trudging in snowshoes soled with Jaws’ teeth, crossing deep crevasses on flexible aluminum ladders.
In Rick’s latest audio message, he documents his 41st day on the mountain, his weakened voice and labored breathing competing with the howling winds around him. Between gulps of air, he describes his climb from Camp 1 to Camp 2 and the stamina it demanded. Now at 21,500 feet above sea level, the formidable challenge that Everest poses becomes even more real.
“That [Khumbu] icefall is crazy beautiful – a little scary, but beautiful. Everyone did great,” says Rick. This weekend he and his team will scale Camp 3 at an altitude 24,000 feet, a new record for Rick and his fellow climbers.
Scaling Everest requires going up, then down, and then back up again! At this altitude, climbing is a tremendous strain on the body, and returning to a lower altitude relaxes it, building resilience to then climb even higher. The journey from here gets steeper, as Rick scales the face of the world’s fourth-highest peak, Lhotse, at a gradient of 30 degrees on his way to the top of Mt. Everest.
Rick Poole, veteran mountain climber, businessman, husband, father, and longtime supporter of Kids Alive, is climbing Mt. Everest to raise $29,035 for at-risk children and orphans. That is $1 for every one of the 29,035 feet he will climb! Rick’s goal is to honor and support the children of Dominican Republic as they scale the mountains in their own lives and climb toward bright futures.
Please join Rick with your financial and prayer support and follow his ascent via this blog and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KidsAlive/