13 dead and 3 unrecoverable, Jim Geiger opens up about his Mt. Everest Attempt

Yesterday marked the 61st anniversary of Sir Edmund Hilary's Mount Everest summit. About a month ago Jim returned from the base camp at Everest in an unsuccessful attempt to summit Everest. What stood in his way? The most deadly avalanche in Everest history. It claimed the lives of 16 very experienced climbers. Had he succeeded, he would have been the oldest American and first great-grandfather to make it to the top.

In a 17 minute interview with Capital Public Radio's Beth Ruyak, Jim opened up about the experience, what brought him to that point and what was on the horizon.

Listen to the full Insight interview.

Read more about Jim's journey in previous posts.

Jim Geiger Returns Home from Mt. Everest

I didn't get a chance to meet Jim at the SMF airport when he returned from his Mt. Everest trip last night, but News 10 captured the moments well in this news clip.

"No longer was I thinking about the top, no longer was I thinking about the record," Geiger said. "It was about these Sherpa. What to do to honor them. What do we do to respect them."

Jim's trip was cut short when the deadliest avalanche in Everest history took the lives of 16 Sherpa, a class of the Nepalese population who have served the climbing community in their goal to summit the mountain since its first attempts in 1922.

Multiple reports have said that Sherpa aren't covered by life insurance and the Nepali government isn't paying out for the deaths of its middle class.

Though Jim is back, he will continue to ask the question: "What's your Everest?" Right now, mine is a half-marathon.