Last Final Report from Kevin

January 3, 2010

"Come on, Kevin! You're almost there!"

With these words of encouragement ringing in my ears, I breathlessly crawled and stumbled up the final rocky hump to stand on the summit of Cerro Aconcagua in Argentina, 6,962 m above sea level. How appropriate that those words were shouted by my good friend, Brad Henry who, in November 2007, invited me to join his newly created "Climb For Prostate" project. Those final steps to the summit were the culmination of two years of training, acquiring equipment, and campaigning to raise awareness of prostate cancer as well as funds for the Vancouver Prostate Centre. Brad's choice was a natural one: Dr. Martin Gleave, one of Canada's foremost Urologists and founder of the Vancouver Prostate Centre, is Brad's brother-in-law.
During the last two years, Brad and I were joined by eleven other men, all between the ages of 47 and 60, most of whom had never met one another prior to this challenge. Each of the participants had his unique reason for joining the team. Each had his own wonderful contribution to make to the project. What united the team was a common spirit of adventure and a willingness to put one's creature comforts aside to take a measured risk for a higher cause. We all wanted to contribute to the defeat of this disease which can deprive men of some of the best years of their lives.
Members of Team Prostate, or the Prostate Boys as we call ourselves, come from the Fraser and Okanagan Valleys. All have spent time talking to groups and individuals about the need for men to be more aware of the high risk of Prostate Cancer and and the benefits of early detection. All have spent the last year preparing mentally and physically for the demands of climbing the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere. The team tackled Mt. Rainier, elevation 4,392 meters, twice in the summer of 2009. To add an extra element of challenge, several of the members are paraglider pilots and hoped to fly from the summit of Mt. Aconcagua. To this end, we climbed Mt. Baker and flew from the summit in July 2009. Perhaps most significantly, Team Prostate worked tirelessly to raise a total of almost $200,000 (to date) for the Vancouver Prostate Centre.
Our Aconcagua expedition began on December 22, 2009. For three days, we hiked 42 km through two desert valleys. Although the bulk of our equipment was carried by teams of mules, we were challenged by the sweltering heat and dust storms raised by the relentless winds roaring down the valley from Mt. Aconcagua. We arrived at Plaza Argentina, or Base Camp, in time for a Christmas which was unlike any we had ever experienced. We spent the next days living, eating, breathing and laughing in this windy, lifeless, moonscape the height of Mt. Rainier. Only occasionally did the winds abate. At dawn on Boxing Day, seven of us huffed and puffed our way 500 meters up a scree-covered mountain on the south side of the valley and were able to fly our paragliders down to Base Camp in time for breakfast.
December 29th We began to move supplies up steep gravel slopes and ice towers, called penitentes, to High Camp One at 5000 meters where we spent more days acclimating=letting our blood adjust to the thin air. On January 1, we slowly climbed another five hours up to the second high camp where the 5800 meter elevation began to become uncomfortable for all and dangerous for some. Here, team member Dr. Don Scaman, of Abbotsford, was asked to treat a member of another group who developed a life-threatening case of pulmonary edema. Scaman's quick injections of dexamethasone likely saved the young man' s life, but his climb was over and he descended with the help of his team-mates.
January 2, three of our team developed various symptoms related to altitude and decided to descend. Three other members also descended, mainly to support the ones with health concerns. This left six: Brad Henry, Don Scaman, Jim Weatherall, Randy Kolarcik, John Leblanc and me. With a forecast for strong winds from our communications/weather specialist, Jerry Mason, we all agreed to give the mountain one more day. We planned to assess the weather and our personal conditions early the following day and either make a summit attempt or depart the mountain for good.
January 3, we awoke at 4:00 am. The sky was clear, the temperature about -25C, with winds under 20 km/hr, so we began what I called a "stroll", prepared to turn around at any point if the wind became dangerously strong. Wind chill can cause frostbite very quickly at this altitude. As we made our way along the steep mixed rock and snow slope of the Polish Traverse Route, the sun rose and the wind began to diminish. Our stroll became a slow slog in ever warming weather.

Nine hours later, one by one, all six of us reached the summit, along with many other climbers who had ascended from both sides of the mountain. For thirty minutes, we relaxed on top, taking photos and videos and dedicating our success to the entire team, as well as to people in our lives suffering from prostate cancer.

Don Scaman summits Mt. Aconcagua. His partner captures the moment.

Then began the long walk down, this time with gravity on our side. It was a very, very long day - almost 15 hours by the time the last of us returned, absolutely exhausted, to Camp 2. We were too tired to eat, let alone cook, but thankfully, two our mates, John and Don, hiked all the way back up from Base Camp got the stoves lit and cooked us each a much needed hot drink before we lapsed into exhausted sleep.
This unselfish act epitomizes the spirit of Team Prostate. Those of us lucky enough to stand atop Mt. Aconcagua acknowledge that all thirteen climbers contributed to the success of the six, and all should be recognized for their support and contributions to the climb. It is with the utmost gratitude and respect that I conclude by thanking all my teammates for their part in the greatest adventure I've ever had. Thank you Ken Hurley, Keith Britz, Edmond Rivere, Glenn Derouin, John Arnold, Don Parmenter, Randy Kolarcik, Jim Weatherall, John Leblanc, Brad Henry, Don Scaman and Jerry Mason. You guys truly rock!
Although the climb is over, our website, climbforprostate.com will continue to accept donations for the Vancouver Prostate Centre until February 28, 2010. Please help us reach a final total of $200,000!
The Climb For Prostate Team would like to thank The Prostate Center at VGH, the local media, our sponsors, the hundreds of people who contributed to the fight against prostate cancer and most of all, our families and friends who supported this enormous undertaking. You have all made this project a huge success.

This report was published January 26, 2010 in the Chilliwack Times Newspaper