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This article first appeared in the March 10, 2000 issue of the Gazette.
Alastair Mullin
A student with a degree from the University of Ottawa may climb to the top of his or her field in medicine or engineering. He or she may end up in the board room of a leading North American company. But a student of health sciences may well find himself or herself making a different kind of climb, as part of a team headed for Mount Everest.
For the last two years, teams of University of Ottawa researchers and students have taken part in expeditions climbing the world's highest peak. Dr. Sean Egan of the School of Human Kinetics led the team last year with students who were part of a credited Adventure Education course, and is returning this month.
The students have to train hard to build their endurance. “You have to be in shape,” notes Egan.
How did he know that he was “in shape” to climb Everest? “When I could hike 30 kilometres in four or five hours with a 25-kilogram pack on my back,” replies Egan, who walked from his home in Ottawa to Carleton Place to test his endurance.
The preparation was an important part of the climb, not only for the sake of survival, but also as part of the students' education.
“We led seminars each month,” says Melissa Klingenberg, who is currently working on her masters in sports psychology. “The idea was that we would be able to lead another expedition to Everest or to a similar destination as part of our professional lives.”
This year, Egan will climb with a team from the Canadian Adventure Service, a private company based in Toronto and owned and operated by Ben Webster.
Webster and his team jumped at the opportunity to bring a scientific component to the team. “I was excited by the potential of adding a scientific element to the adventure,” says Webster. “I wanted to do something with the expedition that was useful to a broader segment of society.”
The research objectives of this year's expedition focus on the climbers and the conditions of the climb. Egan will collect data for his own work on the psychology of training and for three other professors interested in issues such as ozone in the atmosphere and high-altitude sleep patterns. The Mount Everest experience has made quite an impact on students' lives.
“I've never been so focused,” says Klingenberg. “I learned to experience what was happening on the mountain, as it happened. I try to do that in my life now.”
