April 16, 2008

OWU alumnus is Climbing to the Top — of Mt. Everest!

10 April: Everest Base Camp

Those are the words of OWU alumnus Doug Pierson ’92 — Lt. Col. Doug Pierson — who left active duty with the Marines in 1997. He has been deployed twice to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, once as a commander of a landing support company and once as a special staff officer. He spearheaded the fielding of high-power jammers used to save American lives across Al Anbar province.

Pierson’s decision to climb Mt. Everest with several friends presents a new set of challenges and allows him to continue following his passion for outdoor climbing and mountaineering that have been a part of his life since his boyhood years. Following what has been continuous physical training (“tons and tons of time in the gym,” says Pierson), his most recent mountain trek will culminate in a hopeful arrival on Everest’s summit between May 10 and May 31, and will take an estimated four-plus months.

During the past several years, Pierson attained experience in project management, business process, re-engineering business development, and information technology while with IBM Global Business Services — a job he left in December after eight years. His work also has taken him overseas, where he has designed software platforms and evaluated information transfer across continents and oceans. But remaining as a constant in Pierson’s life was — and is — his love for adventure and climbing.

“Over the past several years, I have climbed mountains as high as Mt. McKinley in Alaska,” says Pierson, recalling an Ohio Wesleyan Magazine story about that climb. “Since then, I have been honing my skills as a team member on Seattle Mountain Rescue.”

And then there was the Mt. Fuji climb in November — and of course, more time in the gym. “I was almost as excited to get going on this [Mt. Everest] trip and away from the mundane gym as I was for the climb to begin,” says Pierson.

Equipped with clothing, boots, and electronic devices designed for below-zero temperatures, Pierson’s duo-touch 16-gig laptop computer is, as he says, “as rugged a PC as you’ll find.” The standard temperature at high camp on summit day is a balmy minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pierson’s mountain trek includes climbs to the summits of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Fuji, travels in southeast Asia, a stop in Kathmandu, and a special 38th birthday celebration upon arriving at the Everest base camp between April 15 and May 4. Then it will be onward to the final summit (upward of 26,000 feet!) between May 10 and May 31.

“I have an OWU flag with me,” says Pierson. “It is small, but it will do the trick. When (knock on wood) I make it to the top, I’ll fly it and be sure to take a pic for everyone!”

For more information about Pierson’s climb, visit his blog.

Learn more about PBS FRONTLINE’S coverage of Pierson’s journey.

— Pam Besel