After trekking the equivalent of three or four marathons in a little more than a week near Mt. Everest, Brian O’Malley is back home the States, resting up for a return to attempt to reach the top of the world.
The long-time East Cobb resident admits to having been intrigued by the idea of climbing Everest before, and has watched many programs and videos of those who’ve aimed at reaching the peak of 29,032 feet above sea level.
But taking on such a plan for real was prompted by a physical challenge.
The 60-year-old former U.S. Navy aviator has always been up for daunting tasks. But after recovering from major back surgery—after decades of being in constant pain—he wanted to test his renewed body in a completely different way.
“My back hasn’t felt this good in my life,” O’Malley said earlier this week, a few days after his arrival back from Nepal. “And I’ve had that [Everest climb] in the back of my head.”
After convincing his wife he was up to the challenge, he and his brother-in-law Steve McDaniel made a preparatory visit earlier this month.
O’Malley will return in mid-April to join an elite, experienced Everest team to see how far high he can go. He would be the oldest Georgian to reach the top, and only the third person his age to do it.
“The goal is to get to the summit,” he said. “But not everyone can do that. My mindset is the summit.
If he can achieve that, he said, “all glory to God. If not, “at least I tried and gave it the best I have.”
His first trip to the Himalayas also served as the first phase of O’Malley’s fundraising effort for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which provides mortgage-free homes for the families of fallen first responders, Gold Star families, and catastrophically injured veterans and first responders.
They’ve nearly surpassed their initial goal of $15,000 in pledges and are accepting pledges for the second leg (you can donate here).
O’Malley is the son of a retired Chicago firefighter, and his brother-in-law is a police officer in Georgia. The O’Malley family—he and his wife Shelley and daughter Lauren are U.S. Naval Academy graduates, and son Luke is enrolled there now—is steeped in service.
(The O’Malley children all graduated from Lassiter High School.)
“Training for Life” has been his motto, extending to the Georgia Stingrays swimming team, based at the Mountain View Aquatic Center, and where his other daughter, Shannon (later a University of Georgia standout and All-American) nurtured her athletic talent.
“I’ve never stopped training,” O’Malley said. “I’ve always been physical.”
His preparations beforehand included incorporating a regimen that included plenty of leg squats, pullups, and other body motions to simulate “what I would be doing on the mountain.”
(The soundless video below shows O’Malley walking along an area near the basecamp.)
In his first trip, they reached the Everest base camp, at around 17,000 feet, to get acclimated to the altitude, testing equipment and learning all the details about making such a journey.
He donned an oxygen mask that made him look like Darth Vader, as he climbed incrementally, 2,000 or so feet at a time.
“It made you really concentrate on your breathing,” he said, admitting also that “it kind of caused a panic attack. The key was to work through that, to learn how to take deep breaths and think pleasant thoughts.”
But overall, he said, “we did good on our initial effort.”
O’Malley took most of this week off at the behest of the expedition leader, and will resume his workouts and preparations next week.
The expedition will last around 45-50 days, traversing more than 12,000 from the basecamp (there are four camps in all) to the top.
“It’s dangerous, but the sherpas know that mountain like the back of their hand,” O’Malley said. “They know what they’re doing. I feel like I’m in really good hands.”
If you’re interested in donating to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, you can do so by clicking here.
Click the button in the middle to view the slide show, and check out the videos below that from O’Malley and McDaniel’s trip.
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