Ryan Mitchell, The Teenager who Summited Everest

It's been a long winter in my home. I struggle with seasonal depression and some life stuff has limited our ability to participate in things. (I promise I'm okay! It's just dark out and cold and not the best time of the year) In these moments, I find a good research spiral, to be of great comfort. Somewhere along the path of learning about long-term international travel, watching vlogs of Japan, India and through-hikers; I fell down the rabbit hole...or crevasse of Mt. Everest content.

Mt. Everest is fascinating for historical, economic, travel, and honestly, horror-related reasons. My interest started when I learned just how dangerous the journey can be. About 1 percent of climbers will meet their fate on the stark and blustery slopes of Everest. Many of those who do, will never leave. This made me morbidly curious. Also, a little terrified I might suddenly wake up and be climbing Mt. Everest. (don't worry, it takes over a month and many thousands of dollars I don't have to "suddenly" wake up climbing the tallest mountain of the world. Not that you were worried. But I was.) As someone afraid of heights and known for being charmingly uncoordinated, this adventure was at the top of whatever the opposite of a bucket list is for me. It was fascinating though, I felt like I couldn't look away from the drama.

I learned you don't have to climb Everest to visit base camp or trek many more manageable destinations with a view of the legendary mountain. I learned if you do want to attempt Everest, you must pay 15 thousand dollars just in permit fees to the local people, the Sherpas, who are largely responsible for successful tourism climbs. Sherpas are an ethnic group that revere the Himalayas and have been living on the plateaus of the region for hundreds of years, giving them a genetic advantage to handling the altitude. They serve as guides to anyone who wants to summit many of the mountains of the regions, some more deadly than Everest. I learned that on top of fees, you could wind up spending up to 100k more in specialized equipment, long term training regiments, and amenities at the 4 camps you stay in on the way up the mountain. There is truly a range of participants on Everest, some folks stay in luxury the whole way up, and can even employ a Sherpa to carry them instead of hike the distance.

To many, this climb is the ultimate test of their climbing prowess, willpower, and physical limits. To some, it's a story to tell at every party for the rest of their lives. That's one of many elements that can make the journey treacherous; many underestimate the challenge and fall victim to ego. There's a saying in the community, "Every dead body on Everest was once just as motivated as you." Critics of the tourism practices surrounding Everest cite compiling litter and human waste, unnecessary deaths and the exploitation of Sherpas as to why this practice needs to be discontinued or further regulated. For many Nepalese people though, the revenue of the 30,000 people who come to the region to visit Everest Base Camp and the around 1500 that make an attempt to ascend the mountain keeps their livelihood intact. Whether or not they are fairly compensated for the risks many of them incur for this livelihood is up for debate as well. Still, there are willing people on both ends of the bargain, and many initiatives to help bridge the gap being implemented. Clean-up efforts, and grimly, body recovery efforts have been gaining momentum each year, and the permit fee was recently raised to better compensate Sherpas and make the barrier to entry higher.

After exhausting hours of content and upsetting my stomach from looking at the images of Rainbow Valley; a particularly fraught section of the climb given this moniker because of all the visibly snowsuit bedecked corpses laying around; I found myself on the Youtube page of Ryan Mitchell. A young man of just 19 with a remarkable Everest story. It was a breath of fresh air amid the dark history podcasts, and cost and planning breakdown videos. I wound up learning so much from Ryan, who to me, is basically a kid, I couldn't help but highlight his work and courage.

Ryan started raising money through a Youtube Channel dedicated to playing Minecraft about a year and a half before he left on his excursion in 2024. He began training locally in his home state of Massachusetts, and then eventually summitting other challenging peaks like Denali. He wanted to share his journey on Youtube from the start and has since shared hours of content about his climbing journey. He started out having only done casual hikes and worked his way up to being able to be on the trail for 6 hours, carrying 50lbs at a time.

I'm currently working my way through his full documentary of his 42-day journey from landing in Nepal, to trekking the 100km journey to Everest Base Camp, to climbing to the summit. The video is almost 5 hours long and is some of the best travel documentation I've ever watched. Ryan keeps it candid and simple, alternating between an action cam and his phone, with little music and no fancy drone shots. It's like you're undertaking Everest right along with him. I fully believe this video could go head-to-head with some of the most prestigious documentarians' work. It's a modern-day epic, and the length of it portrays the intensity of the experience but never lags.

Ryan explains how the rise in elevation is impacting him, what he does to stay fueled along the way, and carefully teaches the lingo of mountaineering. You see Nepalese tea houses and monasteries, small breaks and big views, hardworking Sherpas and groups of tourists as you walk with Ryan and hear his casual commentary. As a total no-nothing viewer, I felt in the loop. If you'd asked me few days ago what the "Khumbu Ice fall" or who Phurba Sherpa is a few days ago, I'd have no clue. Ryan has carefully learned everything necessary and gladly shares it.

One of the most impressive things he shares is his mindset. Often talking about how even though he started feeling tired or trepidatious, he knew how to regulate to keep a steady head. It's clear that even if some climbers don't, he is taking this task, and the mountain seriously. He is quietly hopeful but ready for the Herculean effort still ahead as well. This was so encouraging to me. As someone who struggles with getting back on the horse after a fumble, it was a good reminder that those moments are part of a larger story.

I did take a break from the full trek video to watch his video about making it to the summit. He gets emotional as he starts onto the famous "Hillary Step" A narrow ridge just below the peak. He says at first that he knows he's going to make it now, but as he precariously clips onto a new anchor line, he reminds himself that anything can still happen. Letting his guard down isn't safe. As you watch him do this, you can see sheer frozen cliffs on either side of the ridge that disappear into a cloud line BELOW. It's exhilarating and scary, even though you know he's been safe at home for months by now. Sure enough though, after a few more harrowing cuts, he and his team make it to the highest point above sea level. They allow themselves a short celebration, before they start on the second half of the journey, the descent is even more dangerous and its imperative they move quickly.

In the months since his experience, Ryan has continued to share his insights and hours of footage. He has talked at length about his gear and training, near death experiences, and a climbing disaster that happened the day before his summit attempt, that left a dead man in his direct pathway. He's even shared how the intense focus and preparations he spent just about 2 years working on has affected his life and its trajectory since. Though, only to a certain degree, Ryan would like to return to the sport of extreme mountaineering to climb K2, the second tallest, though far more dangerous mountain that takes the lives of around 1 in 6 climbers.

While it's true that every climber on peaks like Everest and K2 are highly motivated and can be humbled at any time by the wild and unempathetic landscape, Ryan certainly is easy to root for from where I sit. It's clear that it's not just motivation propelling him forward, but discipline, curiosity and a passion for sharing these rare experiences with as many people as he can. He has done the work, and is ready for these challenges. In my less-than-my-typically-positive state brought on by this winter, these videos have renewed some of my hope in the human spirit and inspired me to broaden my horizons of what the world holds. There is so much life to be lived, even if some of it is uncomfortable, there are many rewards for the effort. The key is taking it one step at a time. Oh, and maybe randomly yelling, "Skibidi dop!" for some self encouragement.

If you'd like to summit Everest in the safe and cozy bastion of your house via YouTube videos, you can check out Ryan's channel here. Caution, though, there is talk of death and censored dead bodies in some rare instances. Also, Ryan is an inspiring youngster, but please, if you get a little too inspired, make sure you prepare just as extremely as the extreme sport you decide to take up requires. Please, if you're reading this...maybe don't start with Everest?