Former Alberta politician summits Mount Everest

A former Alberta politician has become the oldest Canadian to summit Mount Everest.

John Oldring, who served as a member of the legislature from 1986 to 1993 after spending more than a decade on Red Deer city council, accomplished the feat on May 25.

“We probably had one of the best days of the year to summit on,” Oldring, 64, told the Red Deer Advocate.

He said they could see the curvature of the earth through clear, blue skies from the world’s highest mountain top. His team had originally planned to reach the peak on May 26, which turned out to be a cloudy day for other climbers.

“They didn’t have any visibility. It was flat. They couldn’t stand on the top of Everest and see the other mountains.”

It was the second Everest attempt for the Calgary resident. In 2015, his team was climbing the treacherous Khumbu Icefall on the Nepali slopes of Mount Everest when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal and left them in a total whiteout.

The eight-member team survived, but down at base camp at least 22 people died and several were injured.

Although the incident left many others with post-traumatic stress disorder, Oldring didn’t hesitate to try again.

“I hadn’t reached the summit yet. The job wasn’t done.”

He said seven people have died so far this year on Everest. His team saw four bodies brought down the mountain, and passed another body still in the snow.

“I’d stop and say a quick prayer for them and their families. Then I’d say a quick prayer for me and keep on going.”