Former Astronaut Summits Everest

May 26, 2009 — The second time was the charm. Former NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski reached the summit of Mount Everest early on May 20, becoming the first human to stand on the highest point on the planet and to orbit it in space. In a video chat from base camp with former CNN aviation reporter Miles O’Brien, Parazynski called it a “wonderful experience through and through.” Parazynski, Sherpa Danuru, and other IMG climbers made their way up in the dark, arriving at the Mount Everest summit at 3:55 a.m. local time and in time to see the sunrise. While Parazynski has seen many beautiful sunrises aboard the International Space Station, the one on top of Everest topped all those. “On Everest you can basically savor the experience, instead of traveling at 17,500 mph and seeing the sun come up quite quickly,” Parazynski said. “You see colors in a way that is not possible in shuttle.” But it’s too cold to sit up there and stare at it, he said. “You take pictures and then get down. The summit is really an inhospitable place…” Parazynski said the climb to the summit was the most challenging thing he has ever done in his life, both physically and mentally. “Parts of the route were on unconsolidated snow, so we were breaking through recently fallen snow as we traveled over physically difficult terrain. We’d go two feet up, and one foot back…” At times, Parazynski said he heard “little voices” in his head, suggesting that he should abort the climb. “But then I would hit a patch of more solid terrain and I would get my rhythm back and think that I would summit Mt. Everest today.” In May 2008, Parazynski was forced to turn back at 24,500 feet on an Everest summit bid because of a serious back injury. Parazynski said he thought about it every single day until he was able to return. But every trip brings uncertainty if you’ll be able to push to the summit, he said, because of the possibility of poor weather, health problems and more. That said, Parazynski said he wouldn’t climb to the summit again. “My family is glad I got it out of my system and my wife is relieved there won’t be a third year…”

Scott Parazynski rests, moments after arriving at the summit of Mount Everest. Photo credit: www.onorbit.com/everest Scott Parazynski became the first astronaut to stand atop Mount Everest. Photo credit: www.onorbit.com/everest Sherpa Cams catch astronaut Scott Parazynski posing with one of the banners he carried to the summit of Everest on May 20, 2009. Photo from Discovery Channel

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