Peak performance puts Fort Collins resident Jim Davidson “on the roof of the world”
An earthquake ended his first attempt. A storm wasn’t going to stop his second.
Fort Collins resident and geologist Jim Davidson accomplished a dream he set in college when he reached the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak, Sunday afternoon.
“I’m standing on the roof of the world! The summit of Mount Everest at 29,035 feet! You can achieve anything through #Resilience!” Davidson, 54, wrote on his Facebook page.
In April 2015, Davidson was climbing Mount Everest when a 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal. He was stranded above base camp, which was decimated by an avalanche, for 40 hours before a helicopter was able to bring him to safety.
“Climbing the mountain then became instantly unimportant once the earthquake hit,” Davidson said in January. “What did become important was getting back to base camp and helping people get to safety and trying to rebuild.”
While Davidson achieved his dream Sunday, others trying to do the same weren’t as fortunate. According to The Washington Post, three climbers died and a fourth went missing Sunday on Mount Everest as storms and strong winds swept the mountain. An estimated 60 climbers reached the summit Sunday.
Davidson left Colorado for Nepal in late March and had made training climbs back and forth between camps on the mountain since April. In Colorado, he prepared by spending two days a week in the gym, two days hiking in the hills and another two days climbing in either Rocky Mountain National Park or Ouray Ice Park.