Summit to success,
US-based 27-year-old Turkish Cypriot B‹RKAN UZUN tells Cyprus Today about his plans to plant the TRNC flag at the top of Mount Everest in his quest to become the first person from Cyprus to climb the tallest mountain in every continent
Q
Where are you from originally?
A
I am originally from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, born in Gazimağusa.
Q
When did you move abroad and where are you based now?
A
I moved to the USA in 2011 to study computer science and engineering at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). After receiving my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, I moved to Seattle in 2016 to work for Amazon. I have been there for the past five years.
Q What’s your profession?
A
I am a software engineer at Amazon. I work on solving customer problems in the healthcare space, currently tackling the Covid-19 response. My projects are usually at the intersection of devices, cloud services and machine learning. In the past, I helped launch three products at Amazon:
● Amazon Halo, a new membership that helps customers measure, understand and improve their health. ● Amazon Go, a convenience store with a checkout-free shopping experience.
● Alexa for Business, an Amazon Web Services product that helps businesses improve productivity and build experiences with Alexa at scale.
Q When did you first start climbing?
A
I did not start climbing until the age of 20, my senior year in college. However, I like to think that I have an imperfect but decent excuse for not knowing anything about mountains and the activities you can do on one: I grew up in Cyprus. The island did make me appreciate nature, but in a very slow, laid-back manner, like floating on my back in the Mediterranean for hours or “camping” at the beach with family and friends, grilling kebabs and drinking beer. I played varsity basketball in high school, and I was at the gym regularly, but nothing outside.
I attended MIT for my undergraduate degree. As glorious as it may sound, I had my fair share of struggles there. I was out of my comfort zone from day one. A new country, new school, new people . . . ‘Do I belong? How do I get used to the culture? Do I have friends I can trust?’ My mind was occupied with these problems, and I found it hard to concentrate on health and wellness. I traded sports with TV shows I watched in my dorm room. I ate unhealthily too. When I started my senior year in college, classes and research had become manageable. A successful internship had led to a full-time offer at Amazon. I was excited about all that, but also knew I had to improve my health and wellness.
Here is a common trap: we read, think and talk a lot about what we should be or want to be doing, instead of actually doing it. In reality, it is not that complicated. Mood follows action, and when you show up, you see the difference. I subscribed to the MIT Outing Club (MITOC) mailing list when I was a freshman, thinking I could get outside and enjoy the nature for fun, but I never really did anything with them for three years. During my senior year, as I was trying to change for the better, I saw a MITOC email for an outing in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Students with no prior experience could attend to hike, camp and rock-climb. I just showed up. I climbed Mount Washington as my first mountain, and I never stopped.
Q Which other mountains have you climbed?
A
I have done a fair amount of climbing in the United States, and a little bit internationally. Most of my climbing happened in New Hampshire’s White Mountains while I was in school. Once I moved to Seattle for work, I started climbing in the North Cascades. A friend of mine was trying to climb the 100 highest mountains in the state, and I joined him on multiple trips. Highlights are the five volcanoes I climbed (and skied a couple off the summit): Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Mount Hood, Mount Adams, and Glacier Peak.
Internationally, I have only climbed three big mountains: Mount Elbrus in Russia, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and Aconcagua in Argentina.
Q
Tell us about your Seven Summits Project. When did you start, where have you climbed so far? What’s next? A The Seven Summits Project is the mountaineering feat of summiting the highest peak on each of the seven continents. I started in 2016 with Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. Following that, I climbed Mount Elbrus in Europe in 2017 and Aconcagua in South America in 2018. The last and the hardest mountain I climbed was in 2019 at Denali, in Alaska, North America.
In 2020 climbing trips were halted due to Covid-19, and I also had to take a break due to a spine surgery. I am back now, and climbing trips are back on track. The next goal is Mount Vinson in Antarctica in December 2021. If that’s successful and I can find sponsorship, I plan to climb Everest in 2022 and wrap the project up with Carstensz Pyramid [in Indonesia] in 2023. If I complete the Seven Summits Project, I will become the first person from Cyprus to do so.
Q Why do you love this sport? How dangerous is it?
A
In climbing, there are no official competitions, no medals, and no prize money. For many, it seems selfish, unproductive, and impractical. When I talk to family and friends in Cyprus, they usually cannot make sense of it. Why pay all this money, for long expeditions, and go risk your life? Well,
I believe that among the many beauties of climbing is its ability to transform a person. Every climb you go on, even if you do not summit, you realise that you are capable of so much more than you can imagine: feeling unstoppable; having the skills, drive and resilience to overcome obstacles. Imagine being able to assess and accept the risks of failure and progress as though you had no doubt you would suceed — climbing gives me this.
I also get to explore what our beautiful planet has to offer. New landscapes each time, snow sparkling in the sunlight while standing atop a rugged summit ridge, or a beautiful sunset. Yes, it is dangerous and accidents happen all the time. However, with proper education, training and careful decision making, one can survive.
I have to admit, summiting a mountain and getting back down safely in itself is very fulfiling, too. If you asked me what it meant to do a good job at work, I would need a few minutes explaining my answer, accounting for the role of my team, the customers my team has, the management and a variety of other external factors.
Ask me what it means to do a good job on my next climb, and the answer becomes much simpler. I think climbing gives me the chance to pursue a clear and measurable goal with a direct line back to the work I have put in, with minimal variables like weather and mountain conditions. I know what it
would take me to perform my maximum, day in, day out. I train for a climb, and I believe that I can do it. Yes, there is a lot of physical pain involved throughout the whole experience. However, overcoming it and completing my mission serves as a significant form of achievement and demonstrates ability to discipline my body.
Finally, climbing is about people for me. About friendships, partnerships, and sharing “that was close” moments. It’s about the post-climb beers that last late into the night and endless drives back home. It’s about saying “I will never do this again,” and then planning future adventures together.
Q Have you ever had any accidents?
A Thankfully, no big accidents so far. While climbing locally in Washington, I have been in some sketchy situations where my partners and I had to deal with an unforeseen avalanche danger, or due to lack of gear, we had to use less protection. I have been too cold, too hot or injured a knee. I usually make do. However, climbing at altitude is a different game. There is a lot less oxygen, and your body does not recover as well as it would at sea level.
I was climbing Denali last summer, the highest point in North America, and an expedition that can take anywhere between a week to a month. We were 14 days into the expedition, at base camp around 14,000 feet, and I woke up with a really bad stomach bug. The same day, we were supposed to move up to the high camp at 17,000 feet, and push for the summit at 20,308 feet, the next day. The expedition and the summit were on the line.
Climbing is like walking this tightrope between risk and security, the endurance and problem-solving for mind and body. I had two options: stay at camp while the rest of the team went for the summit and recover to get back down with them in a few days; or take some medicine, push for it, and hope that I was lucky.
At that point, taking a calculated risk felt like the right choice. I talked to our guide, Mike, and told him that I wanted to take some stomach medicine I had brought and give it a try. We both knew that if I was struggling, one of the other guides would bring me down. Worst case scenario, the National Park would send a helicopter, if the weather allowed. If you have climbed at altitude several times before, you know what your body is capable of. I thought I could push through. Hours later, we made it to high camp. It felt like the hardest thing I had ever done in my life. However, my stomach pain wouldn’t go away and the team was supposed to move up for the summit early next morning. I took more pills and curled up in my sleeping bad, sad. When I woke up a couple of hours later, the weather had turned. It was too windy to climb. The guides decided that we needed to spend the day there. I took more pills, drank lots of water and tried to get as much oxygen in as I could. The day after, I woke up feeling stronger. We summited.
Q You recently told President Ersin Tatar that your Seven Summits Project is being done to promote the TRNC. Why did you choose to do this and how will you promote TRNC?
A
Because I love the TRNC! I certainly see myself coming back in the near future to focus on entrepreneurship in order to help further our country’s technology in infrastructure, healthcare and education. The opportunities I had when I was growing up in the TRNC have led me to this stage in my life, and I want to give back.
As for the project, if I’m being honest, I first started it for personal reasons: pushing the limits of my physical endurance and seeing the world. However, as I progressed, I realised that I could use various media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram to promote our country, inspire the young people in the TRNC to dream big, and finally bring more awareness about the mountaineering sport.
I have so far been on various newspapers and live television talking about the project, and I hope to continue doing that. I am also ready to help anyone who’s interested in the sport.
I would also like to add that there is currently no government support in this project. I hope that will change in the near future, but regardless, I plan to bring our flag up to the summits I will be climbing and promote the TRNC through tourism website links, logos on my outdoor gear and talks online.
Q Have you ever climbed anywhere in the TRNC?
A I have done a fair amount of hiking in the Beşparmak Mountains, but no rock climbing. I spend a limited amount of time back home due to my job in the USA, but I try to do more local exploring in the mountains every time I’m back for vacation.
Q What is the highest you have climbed? What did it feel like?
A The highest I have climbed was on Aconcagua at 6,961m, 39 metres shy of 7,000m. It’s really an indescribable feeling. You feel a sense of accomplishment; all of your efforts have led you to that point in life. You’re higher than 99 per cent of the people on Earth, and it makes you feel alive.
Q Is there anything else you would like to say?
A I would like to thank my family and friends who have supported me throughout this project. I would also like to thank Cyprus Today for spotlighting my project.