Fighting hunger, frigid conditions and the death of several group members, MSU alumnus Dale Darling, 39, had to rely on his experience to take him to the summit of Mount Everest.
Darling, who has been climbing mountains for 10 years, knew how to pace himself, thus he never was worried about death. Unfortunately, three group members did not make it up the world's tallest mountain - 29,035 feet - and another person with a broken leg was left behind.
Despite the deaths, the group had to continue.
"If you break a leg or an ankle, there's no way to get down - you're dead," Darling said. "A guy before us broke his leg, and we buried him. Stepping around the dead bodies on your way up, you know how severe the realities are."
On the last day of the ascent, May 23, the trek to the summit began at midnight and ended at about 9 a.m.
"It was beautiful at the top - but you're exhausted," Darling said. "For the six days prior, you sleep a few hours a night and you haven't eaten hardly a thing." Mount Everest is the fifth mountain on Darling's list of the world's tallest peaks to conquer in his lifetime. Darling hopes to conquer the tallest mountain on each continent, and only Australia and Antarctica remain.
"I had been planning to do this for six or seven years," Darling said. "I've been climbing one major mountain a year."
After graduating from MSU with a bachelor's degree in animal science in 1987 and an agricultural economics master's degree in 1989, Darling moved to California to work at Blue Diamond Growers, an almond exporter. In his new home, he discovered a love for mountain climbing.
"The highest hill in Michigan is 600 feet," Darling said. "Michigan is as flat as a pancake."
He took months off work to undertake the Mount Everest climb. The trip to the top lasted two months, yet the descent was only two days. The increasing air pressure required Darling and his 19 group members, all strangers, to gradually become acclimated to the atmosphere, so they spent time at four base camps along the way.
"It takes time for lungs to adjust," Darling said. "It's like going from Lansing straight up into the air to 15,000 feet immediately - you'd pass out."
At least three people from the original group had died on their way up, and one with a broken leg was left on the mountain. Only 1,200 people have climbed Mount Everest in the past 80 years, and only 15 percent have reached the summit.
Darling's mother, Joanne Darling, was worried the entire time her son was on his expedition. Glad to hear he came home to California last week, Joanne booked a flight out to California to visit her son.
"It's so good to have him back in the United States," Joanne said. "I tried not to get worked up too much when he was gone. We had him on the prayer chain at church."
For Darling, climbing mountains is beyond the reason of convenience.
"You appreciate the little things in life," Darling said.
