The Team

I am enjoying getting to know the team members better. At lunch yesterday I had a chance to ask Ankita about her own history and how she finds herself here. Ankita is the daughter of Indian parents who met while pursuing advanced degrees in the United States. They remained in the U.S.A. And enjoyed successful careers as an Engineer and Biochemist. Having grown up in the States, Ankita, in contrast to her exotic name, is as American as anyone you may meet. She was introduced to mountaineering by her father five years ago. He and Ankita made a Nepal trek to Everest Base Camp. Unfortunately her father suffered from a medical condition and the two had to be extracted by helicopter. I asked Ankita why that did not dissuade her from further climbing, as she subsequently summited Kilimanjaro and, of course, is here now attempting Europe's highest summit. Her answer balanced the fact that her father recovered completely and her own awakening to the individual rewards of going to the mountains. Paul is the son of a Ugandan and American. He is new to mountain climbing, having been persuaded to go on this adventure by a volunteer in a technology class he teaches. That student is Ankita, who makes a point of stating that Paul accepted this invitation before the two were technically dating. "I'm in," he texted her one afternoon. Courage calls in moments of its own choosing. They are a twenty-something couple with quick smiles and a smart sense of humor. They loyally join myself and Guide Mike Roberts as we together catalog Richard's countless tales of speed and self-inflicted injury. Dr. Richard Birkill is no doubt respected for his medical accumen, but famous for the distinction of having arrived to an emergency room call as a patient in the next ambulance. He is all about speed and can rattle off the accelleration stats for everything from his snow mobile to his coffee grinder. If there is an extreme sport Richard is not engaged in it's probably because there just isn't enough opportunity to injure himself. Richard was born and raised in South. Africa, relocating with his family to Alberta eight years ago. He has three children (a boy and two girls), and an extraordinarily patient wife. Richard is here on this climb because I taunted him with repeated text messages which called into question his courage and masculinity, quite often featuring the chicken tagline "Bocka bocka bocka." He is a fun guy to hang out with and an able climber. We climbed Kili together and I wanted him along for this hill, though I suspect he is often bored as this is quite tame in comparison to his flying, kiting, racing, and full-contact Bridge tournaments.