Mike Tobin shares details of perilous Mount Everest summit and 22-pushup challenge in death zone
Mike Tobin opens up on ‘arduous’ Mount Everest climb
Fox News senior correspondent Mike Tobin shares details on his training regimen and the challenges of reaching Mount Everest’s summit to raise awareness for the suicide rate among U.S. veterans and first responders.
Fox News Senior Correspondent Mike Tobin has completed one of the riskiest feats in the world: climbing Mount Everest.
Along with a team, Tobin hiked the mountain in the Himalayas, reaching the highest point on Earth.
Tobin was back on the channel, joining “America’s Newsroom” on Friday from China to share the details of his experience.
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“Some people say weather-wise, it was one of the best summit windows they’ve seen in like 20 years,” said Tobin.
“And you compare that to the other people who climbed this Everest season, most of them got beat up on the summit.”
Fox News correspondent Mike Tobin has completed a Mount Everest climb. (Mike Tobin)
He said that his team saw people going down the mountain with “big black mittens on,” indicating that “they were covering up frostbite damage.”
Tobin shared that when he reached the summit, it was a little bit cloudy.
“I’m very well aware that 90% of the accidents happen on the way down and so you’re tired, you’re a little hypoxic, and it was a moment of concentration for me,” said Tobin.
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“I wanted to make sure that I didn’t let up because we still had a long way to get down to advanced base camp.”
In 2023, 12 climbers were reported dead while five went missing following 478 hiking permits issued by Nepal, according to Reuters.
Tobin credited his wife for keeping him on track during his preparation leading up to the challenging hike. (Mike Tobin)
“I was just trying to think, ‘Keep your head about yourself. Don’t make any mistakes, don’t turn what’s otherwise going to be a celebration into a tragedy.'”
About 700 to 1,000 climbers attempt the summit each year, with success rates ranging between 60% and 70%, according to Climbing Kilimanjaro.
“Keep your head about yourself. Don’t make any mistakes.”
Tobin said that he “certainly was spooked at different times on the climb,” sharing that it hit him when he came back down on the second step.
The second step is on the northeast ridge of Mount Everest, one of three major obstacles.
“Some people say [that] weather-wise, it was one of the best summit windows they’ve seen in like 20 years,” said Tobin. “And you compare that to the other people who climbed this Everest season, most of them got beat up on the summit.” (Mike Tobin)
He said it was a bit “odd” as he “was pretty enthused on the way up,” but added other team members shared that the moment was spooky for them, too.
While in the “death zone,” Tobin participated in the 22 Pushup Challenge to raise awareness about the issue of veteran and first responder suicide.
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“The only way you survive the death zone is to get in and out of there as fast as you can before the sand runs out of your hourglass or before the oxygen runs out of your bottle,” said Tobin.
The “death zone” is an area above 26,247 ft. on the mountain; the air is too thin to support human life without supplemental oxygen.
While in the “death zone,” Tobin participated in the 22 Pushup Challenge to raise awareness about veteran and first responder suicide. (Mike Tobin)
“It was kind of an add-on to the climb … You’ve seen some of the different events that people have done as far as the 22 push-ups in recognition of veteran suicide,” said Tobin.
“I hope that a troubled guy out there somewhere who was looking at suicide as a reasonable response to his troubles will realize that someone took the time to do that in a perilous situation and reconsider before he hurts himself,” he added.
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Tobin credited his wife for keeping him on track during his preparation leading up to the hike.
“Between work and training for Everest, there really wasn’t any time, and she ran the house and made sure I got fed.”
Tobin credited his wife for keeping him on track throughout his preparation before the hike. (Mike Tobin)
He shared that the training process was pretty arduous.
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“I did crazy kinds of training, like I’d take the sandbags that our cameramen use, and I put them in a backpack, and I ran up and down the Indiana Sand Dunes for hours at a time,” said Tobin.