Scott Holder's journey to the tops of the world
At our regular breakfast meeting on July 26, Scott Holder informed President Rich that he’d traveled to Australia for a “business trip.” He mentioned something about his “seventh goal” but did not elaborate. For all of those who missed Scott’s comments, and for new members who may not know the story, this is a really big deal. On Scott’s “business trip” to Australia, Scott accomplished a personal goal he’d set for himself in 2011; Climb the highest peak on each of the seven continents! Scott’s “business trip” was Mt. Kosciuszko, the highest peak in Australia.
Scott decided to accomplish the “seven summits,” one of mountaineering’s greatest achievements, in 2011. His reasons: the challenge, the adrenalin rush, and the sheer joy of witnessing God’s creation from the top of the world. Now, having climbed Mt. Kosciuszko, Scott has accomplished his goal and is ready move on to other things, or maybe rest for a while. The other peaks Scott defeated by amazing tenacity are: Aconcagua (South America – 2011), Denali (aka Mt. McKinley, Alaska – 2012), Mt. Vinson (Antarctica – 2012), Mt. Elbrus (Russia - 2013), and Kilimanjaro (East Africa - 2014).
The seventh peak, Mt. Everest, is a completely different story. Scott and his crew were high on the slope of Everest in April 2015, when Scott developed an upper respiratory infection and returned to the base camp and then descended to Lukla, 8,000’ lower, for some thick and humid air. While Scott was in Lukla, an earthquake in Nepal caused avalanches on Everest that slammed into the base camp, killed at least 18 climbers and injured at least another 37. The quake and avalanches killed over 8,700 people in the region. No one successfully climbed Mt. Everest in 2015. As a result of this disaster, Scott was unable to achieve the Everest summit. Not only is Scott a tenacious climber, he is also a careful and prudent climber; this internal safeguard may have saved his life!
Scott also recognizes Sunrise Rotary at the summit of each mountain by adding a photograph of our club’s banner. The banner of the Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise flies high on the highest peak of each continent! I’m not sure what’s next for Scott but no one doubts that it will be amazing!
