United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Love and kisses on top of Mount Everest
BY DAVID WHITING
2010-12-06 15:39:23


He was an Eagle Scout. She hit the social scene. About the only thing they shared was the same geometry teacher at Hoover High School in Glendale.

Or so it seemed.

A few years later at USC, Paul Fejtek mustered the courage to ask out his former high school classmate. They discovered they shared more than a love for sports.

They shared a love for each other.

They went on to become part-time ski instructors at Bear Mountain. Then on a heli-skiing trip in the Canadian Rockies, Fejtek hid something inside his goggles.

Atop a cold and snowy mountain, he pulled out an engagement ring.

Soon the Eagle Scout and the scene setter were Mr. and Mrs. Fejtek.

They committed to one another. But as the years went by, they committed to something else. They decided to climb the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each of the planet's seven continents.

Sure, Paul had a nearly useless right arm. But the Fejteks had dreams to realize – and people to help.

CLIMBING WITH HELP OF 'THE CLAW'

Paul Fejtek, managing director at the Irvine-based Hunter Wise Financial Group, was born with something called Brachial Plexus Palsy. The nerves in his upper spine connecting to his right arm were damaged during birth. Much of his arm and hand were left impaired.

While he was growing up, Fejtek's mother decided the best way to teach her son to succeed was to encourage him to be active. It worked. Big time.

In 2002 while visiting a friend in the Peace Corps in Africa, the Fejteks climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain on that continent at more than 19,000 feet.

By that time, they had added triathlons to their list of activities (18 to date including an Ironman for Paul). And they started raising funds for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, which helps provide bicycles and prosthetics to those in need.

They followed up Kilimanjaro with a climb up the highest mountain in South America, Aconcagua, at nearly 23,000 feet. In June 2006, they tackled Mount Elbrus, more than 18,000 feet and the highest mountain in Europe. A year later, they summited Alaska's Mount McKinley, the roof of North America at more than 20,000 feet.

On McKinley, Paul Fejtek plunged through a thin covering of snow. Up to his chest in a crevasse, Fejtek looked down and saw nothing but black. He described it as "looking into the belly of the beast" during a recent series of lectures at REI that I hosted.

They followed up with Carstensz Pyramid in Australasia. Not only was it in a remote area, but it was a particularly technical climb.

Paul Fejtek knew he needed both hands for Carstensz. He noticed a door hook and thought he had the answer. He scoured the shelves at Home Depot and found just what he needed.

Dubbing his contraption "the claw," Fejtek fashioned a climbing prosthetic from a wrist brace and a clothing hook. Although Fejtek lost a chunk of skin on sharp rock, the device worked.

In December 2009, the couple climbed their sixth of the seven summits: Vinson Massif in Antarctica.

"It was an incredible privilege to be able to visit that part of the globe," Paul Fejtek said of the frozen continent.

Not only did they climb in Antarctica, they also skied. "We made tracks down slopes that few people on Earth have skied."

What was left?

Mount Everest, the highest mountain in Asia and the tallest mountain in the world.

For most people, especially for someone with a nearly useless right hand, the goal of summiting Everest might seem impossible. But the Fejteks don't see impossible.

During their talk, they offered this quote by author Mack R. Douglas: "The achievement of your goal is assured the moment you commit yourself to it."

ON TOP OF THE WORLD

He and Denise, who is earning her master's degree in health, trained for Everest by swimming, running, cycling and climbing. On weekends, they headed to Mount Baldy in the San Gabriel Mountains where they ascended the bowl, a steep, snowy and sometimes treacherous route to the 10,000-foot summit.

All the while, they also raised funds for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. The goal of "Everybody to Everest" is to provide funds for other challenged athletes to live life to the fullest and pursue activities. More than $114,000 has been raised.

Orange County participants include Paul's sister, Tina Pauly of Aliso Viejo, Julie Hoppe of Dana Point, Jeff Roberts of Dana Point, Mike McCarthy of Huntington Beach, Dace Sprukte of Newport Coast, Edgars Gulbis of Newport Coast, Fritz Wickman of Newport Beach and Camille Attell of San Clemente.

On April 10, 2010, the Newport Beach couple saw their final Seven Summits goal for the first time. At 11,300 feet in the Khumbu Valley, Paul and Denise stared at the fearsome mountain they were to climb.

Later that month, they were joined at Everest Base Camp by 23 friends and family who had helped raise money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

Finally, good weather and summit day arrived. Speed and a flawless ascent and descent were critical. They were in the death zone where the body starts to eat itself.

At 9 p.m. on May 22, the Fejteks set off. The lights from their headlamps and from the headlamps of dozens of other climbers danced on the snow. The sky filled with stars.

What they couldn't see in the darkness was the mind-numbing drops plunging thousands of feet to Nepal on one side and thousands more feet to China on the other side. Dawn broke and found the Fejteks and others high on Everest. The weather held.

On May 23 at 9:30 a.m., the Fejteks, made their final steps to the 29,029-foot summit of Everest. Wearing puffy orange down suits they hugged and kissed.

"It's been a long time coming," Denise said, taking off her oxygen mask and gasping for breath. "It's so worth it."

"We did it together," Paul replied. "To the top of the world."

And then, before climbing down, the couple stole one last kiss.

David Whiting's column also runs News One Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays; dwhiting@ocregister.com.
© Copyright 2010 Freedom Communications. All Rights Reserved.