Oldest woman to reach Seven Summits to speak in Washington Terrace
Carol Masheter on the summit of Carstensz Pyramid (elevation just over 16,000 feet) in Papua, Indonesia, July 11, 2012, the day she became the oldest woman in the world (to date) to summit the Seven Summits, the highest peak in each continent, plus this peak, which some in the mountaineering community consider to be the "Eighth of the Seven Summits," since the highest peak in Australia is only 7,310 feet in elevation, more of a hill than a mountain.
A portrait taken by Anne Spencer, early winter, 2008, in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Carol Masheter hand-over-handing a Tyrolean traverse near the summit of Carstensz Pyramid in Papua, Indonesia, July 11, 2012.
Carol Masheter at Camp 4 (26,000 feet) preparing for the final climb of just over 3,000 vertical feet to the summit of Mt. Everest.
Carol Masheter hand-over-handing across a Tyrolean traverse on the ridge leading to the summit of Carstensz Pyramid at over 15,000 feet elevation, July 11, 2012.
Carol Masheter on the summit of Mt. Everest (elevation 29,035 feet), the highest peak in the world, at age 61 years 7 1/2 months, on May 24, 2008.
Carol Masheter with Hedwyn Williams from Canada (left) and Tendi Sherpa (right) at Everest Base Camp (17,600 feet elevation), April, 2008. Tendi Sherpa was Carol Masheter's climbing partner above Base Camp. Sadly, Tendi Sherpa was killed in an avalanche on Mt. Himlung in Nepal on September 29, 2013, while fixing ropes for client climbers. He was 43 years old and is survived by a wife and four children.
Climbing vertical limestone slabs on the way to Carstensz Pyramid, Papua, Indonesia, July, 2012.
Carol Masheter with other climbers in the IMG Kilimanjaro Expedition, Dec. 24, 2007.
Phil Drowley, one of the other members of the Adventure Consultants team of eight client climbers in 2008, at about about elevation 24,000 feet, just above Camp 3 on the Lhotze Face, one of the more treacherous parts of the climb of Everest by the traditional Nepal-side route taken by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first two people confirmed to have summited Mt. Everest in June, 1953.
Some crevasses on the way to Camp 1 (19,600 feet elevation) at about 19,000 feet elevation were too wide for ladder bridges, so climbers had to climb down into each crevasse, cross a natural bridge of ice blocks (of questionable safety), then climb up and out of the crevasse.
Dori Schmidt, a member of the IMG CP Expedition July 2012, fell off one of the native stick bridges and sustained a head injury. Other members of the team formed a human chain, were able to locate Dori, and haul her out of the dangerously swift water. Expedition leader Jason Edwards and next in command Dan Zokaites assessed and field treated Dori's injuries, then coordinated her evacuation to Jakarta for further assessment and treatment.
Near the top of the Khumbu Icefall in April 2008.
Now 69 years old, mountaineer Carol Masheter continues to climb to higher heights.
Carol Masheter was 60 years old when she climbed to 22,840 feet and summited the highest mountain in South America. Within the next five years, she summited the highest mountain on every other continent.
Though it wasn’t initially her plan, her grit and passion led her to become the oldest woman in the world to reach the Seven Summits.
HEAR HER SPEAK
Carol Masheter will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, at the Utah Humanities Book Festival at the Weber County Library’s Pleasant Valley Branch, 5568 S. Adams Ave., Washington Terrace.
She will discuss her climbing endeavors and her book “No Magic Helicopter: An Aging Amazon’s Climb of Everest,” which chronicles the struggles and triumphs she experienced during her preparation and time on Mount Everest.
Climbing called to Masheter rather late in life. In a period of 18 months, her mother passed away, Masheter was denied tenure as a teacher, her younger sister became seriously ill and she found out her boyfriend was seeing someone else.
Her life was spiraling downward, all before her 50th birthday. Depression, anxiety and sleepless nights ate away at her until she resolved to make a change and signed up for a four-week mountaineering course.
“I finally found something that I was better at than just mediocre,” Masheter said of climbing. “Of course, I worked like a maniac, but I actually seemed to have a little bit of natural talent. I tolerated the altitude well, the cold was not a problem for me even though I was 50, and I had the endurance of a steam engine.”
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Photo supplied/Mike Roberts
Carol Masheter high on Denali (elevation 20,360 feet elevation), highest peak in North America, in June, 2010.
In the beginning, Masheter didn’t want to climb Mount Everest. She had already climbed Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America, and Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.
“But guess what,” Masheter said. “I got the bug. I didn’t want to die without knowing whether I could do it or not, simply because I hadn’t tried.”
Masheter was 61 years old when she made the decision to go, and she started a strict training regimen right away.
She climbed stairs with 60 pounds on her back, did intense interval work, rode her bike on the 10-mile commute to and from work, and trained in the mountains on the weekends.
“I trained within an inch of my life,” Masheter said. “It was brutal, but I remember feeling this grim sense of satisfaction as I mopped up the pools of sweat under the seated bicycles.”
Despite her preparation, the challenges of Everest began to present themselves before Masheter even left her home in Salt Lake City.
At the time, Everest was hot with conflict and tensions were running high. It was the year of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and protests had broken out over China’s occupation of Tibet. China planned on running the Olympic torch to the summit of Mount Everest, so they closed the mountain to avoid being troubled by protesters.
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Photo supplied/Carol Masheter
Carol Masheter crossing a ladder bridge in the Khumbu Icefall, April, 2008, in preparation for climbing to the summit of Mt. Everest. If she looks knock-kneed with fear, it is because she is afraid of heights.
The news that the trip of a lifetime could be over before it started was devastating to Masheter, but she flew to Kathmandu with faith that the mountain would open.
Climbers were allowed at Everest Base Camp upon her arrival, but they couldn’t venture any farther.
“Base Camp was an armed camp full of 19-year-old soldiers with semi-automatic weapons who threatened to shoot us if we climbed the mountain,” Masheter said. She recalled soldiers demanding unannounced searches, going into climbers’ tents and confiscating all equipment capable of recording video or communicating with the outside.
After several weeks of waiting, climbers were gradually allowed to begin the ascent. First through the Khumbu Icefall, then to Camp 1, Camp 2, Camp 3 and finally Camp 4.
As they neared the summit, Masheter was consistently last in her climbing group. She felt exhausted and demoralized, but she kept climbing and climbing until she reached the top. There, she realized her months of training and waiting were worth it.
“I swear I could see the curvature of the Earth,” Masheter said of the view from the top. “I felt like I was higher than heaven. People ask how long I was up there. It was like a thousand years; time stood still.”
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Photo supplied/Carol Masheter
Carol Masheter on the summit of Vinson Massif (elevation 16,075 feet approximately, values vary by source), January, 2012. One big challenge, in addition to hauling in all our own equipment and building our own camps, was the cold. It was about minus 30 degrees F, when this picture was taken, a balmy day by Vinson Massif standards.
It wasn’t until after Everest that Masheter made the decision to climb the remaining four mountains to complete the Seven Summits. Since she’d just completed Everest, the hardest and most expensive mountain, she tried to work her way down the scale of difficulty by summiting Denali, Elbrus, Vinson Massif and, lastly, Carstensz Pyramid.
For Masheter, life after the Seven Summits is still full of adventure. A few weeks ago, she led a group trip to Iceland to climb its highest peak. When she’s not traveling, her weekends are usually spent summiting mountains in Utah.
“It’s not just about getting up some topography on our planet,” Masheter said. “It’s a curious blend of humility and yet exultation that I experience when I’m up there. I never get tired of it. It’s an important part of my life.”
However, she’s not naïve to the inevitable process of aging.
“This whole business of approaching 70 is pretty scary and I know my abilities are diminishing,” Masheter said. “But I don’t want to quit too soon.”
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Photo supplied/Carol Masheter
Carol Masheter on the summit of Aconcagua (22,841 feet elevation), highest peak in South America, in January, 2007, at age 60 years 3 months, the same age her father was when he died of his second heart attack. Dr. Masheter and her team mates struggled against winds in excess of 70 mph on summit day. Many other teams turned back short of the summit. That day one woman was blown off the mountain, sustained a broken leg, and had to be rescued, we learned later.
Instead of quitting, she tries to choose her objectives rationally and find the balance between challenges that promote growth and challenges that are dangerous. She credits yoga with teaching her the difference between one and the other.
In the meantime, she’s exploring new outlets for self-discovery. In addition to Tibetan prayer flags and photos of the world’s highest points, Masheter’s home is now decorated with paintings, a hobby she recently became interested in. She also enjoys poetry and writing, and has written and self-published two books.
“I always want to keep growing and discovering and learning and mentoring,” Masheter said. “You’re never too old to take on a new horizon.”
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Photo supplied/Carol Masheter
Carol Masheter on the summit of Hvannadalshnjuker, elevation 6922 feet, the highest peak in Iceland, May 14, 2016.
HOW TO REACH NEW HEIGHTS
Here are Carol Masheter’s tips to reach your summit, whatever the goal may be.
Find where you are your best self.
It can be anything from pottery to running, but Masheter encourages you to explore the options until you find the environment where you feel like the best possible version of yourself.
“The mountains are where I have found my best self,” Masheter said. “It’s incumbent on you if you want to live a rich, full life to find where you are your best self. Find it and do it.”
Start slow, especially if you’re older.
It’s difficult to start something and expect to be good at it right away, so Masheter said it’s unhelpful to compare yourself to others. She considers this particularly important for those who are older, when overdoing it takes longer to recover.
“What a lot of people of any age do is start too strong,” Masheter said. “But you need to start where you are.”
Don’t be afraid to try new things, but remember it can take several tries.
Masheter was first introduced to yoga during her life crises in her fifties. She said she started out hating both yoga and meditation and went to almost 20 classes without changing her mind.
“I didn’t really see the point of it,” Masheter said. “But it’s all about trying. What I learned to love about yoga is that it teaches you awareness.”
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Photo supplied/Pal Tande
Carol Masheter nearing the highest point, or summit, on Carstensz Pyramid’s summit ridge, July 11, 2012.
Forgive yourself.
When you make a mistake, don’t beat yourself up or defeat yourself. Instead, Masheter suggests practicing forgiveness. Just start over and try again or try another method.
“I fall off the wagon all the time and gain six or seven or eight extra pounds,” Masheter said. “Then I have to cut out all the Baskin Robbins rocky road ice cream. So I’ve had to learn to forgive myself.”
THE SEVEN SUMMITS
Photo supplied/Andrew Wexier
Carol Masheter on summit of Mt. Elbrus (elevation 18,510 feet), highest peak in Europe (Bass list), August 2011.
Carol Masheter climbed the Seven Summits in an order different from most. After she climbed the most difficult, Mount Everest, in the third slot on her list, she tackled the rest from most difficult to easiest mountain.
- Aconcagua, 2007. Highest peak in South America. 22,840 feet
- Kilimanjaro, 2007. Highest peak in Africa. 19,340 feet.
- Everest, 2008. Highest peak in the world. 29,035 feet
- Denali, 2010. Highest peak in North America. 20,310 feet
- Elbrus, 2011. Highest peak in Europe. 18,510 feet
- Vinson Massif, 2012. Highest peak in Antarctica. 16,076 feet
- Carstensz Pyramid, 2012. Highest peak in Australia/Oceania, 16,024 feet.
There is some disagreement about the highest points in Europe and Australia/Oceania. According to some, Mont Blanc is the highest point in Europe, and Kosciuszko is the highest point on the same tectonic plate as Australia. Just in case, Masheter climbed both mountains in addition to the seven listed.
