She did it.
On her 70-day epic sojourn in the Himalaya, local mountaineer Hilaree O’Neill did what only a select few expedition teams were able to do this season: she summited the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest.
O’Neill did it in fine style; according to reports, she was the first person in her elite team of National Geographic explorers and North Face team athletes to reach the top at 8:15 a.m. local time. Other reports from the team indicate that everyone in her five-person group made the summit and that all are back down safely at Camp 4.
We also received word that O’Neill and one other of her teammates is setting off at midnight to attempt another 8,000-plus meter peak, Lhotse, that adjoins Everest. We wish her the best of luck. Read more about the challenges of juggling a career as a professional mountaineer and being a mother: Hilaree O’Neill is the mother of two young boys and wife of another mountaineer, Brian O’Neill, and she is profiled in this summer’s edition of Telluride Magazine.
The summit of Everest, down to C4, and back up to the peak of Lohtse — That is a long time to spend at above 8,000 meters, the “Death Zone.” I hope for the sake of her two young children at home that she has no bad luck and that she returns safely.