FEATURE
On top of the world
A Geelong anaesthetist has become part of a select group of people to successfully climb the highest peaks
on each of the seven continents. MIRANDA LUBY hears about his inspiring journey
A
S a young boy, Simon Gower used to
pore over the adventure books given
to him by his mum.
Those childhood novels, filled with wild
tales of journeys to far-flung places,
instilled him with a desire to follow in the
footsteps of the courageous explorers he
read about.
‘‘I guess it’s every boy’s dream to be an
adventurer,’’ Simon says. ‘‘You imagine
yourself as one of the people in the books.
It’s so inspiring.’’
This time last month, the 39-year-old
Geelong anaesthetist was battling
temperatures of minus-35C at 8800m to
reach the fabled peak of Mount Everest
after nine weeks of gruelling climbing.
It was the final summit in a 16-year
journey that saw Simon successfully
conquer the highest points on each of the
seven continents — something fewer than
10 other Australians have done.
Now, back in his modern, sleek and
warm Geelong home, Simon’s
surroundings are a far cry from his
wind-battered tent and the desolate
terrain of Everest.
In his living room, a more grown up
adventure book, a colourful hard cover
about the mountain, is the only indication
of his recent expedition.
‘‘To be honest it feels like a bit of a
dream,’’ Simon says. ‘‘I haven’t really
realised what it’s like for it to be over yet.
‘‘I’m still on a huge high.’’
But despite his life-long love of
exploration, Simon’s first ascent, up one of
the world’s highest mountains, happened
purely on a whim.
‘‘I was backpacking with a friend in
Africa when we came to Mount
Kilimanjaro and decided to give it a go,’’
Simon says, reflecting on the first steps of
his journey. ‘‘It just seemed like a good idea
at the time.’’
Within a few days they had all the gear,
the guide and the sherpas and set off on
their climb.
But it didn’t go to plan. What usually
takes 10 days, the inexperienced duo did in
six and when Simon hit the summit at
6000m on Christmas Day 1996, he was
overcome with altitude sickness.
‘‘I didn’t give myself enough time to
acclimatise and it got really bad when we
got up high. What’s worse is that
Kilimanjaro is a volcano so you stay at that
height as you walk around the whole
crater,’’ says Simon, who nearly had to be
airlifted off the mountain.
‘‘Looking back now I can’t believe how
inexperienced we were and how little
we knew.’’
The close call on his first climb put
Simon off the peaks for years. He came
home and settled into his life as an
anaesthetist at Geelong Hospital.
But then a trip to South America a few
years ago reignited his curiosity.
‘‘I decided to give Aconcagua a go to see
if I would get sick again,’’ says Simon, who
had more experience after backpacking at
a high altitude for weeks.
This time his body held up and the
feeling of taking the last step to reach the
summit was pure elation.
‘‘It was just incredible. Hard to describe,’’
Simon says. ‘‘It was as much about the
actual climb as the feeling of setting a goal
like that and achieving it.
‘‘It’s a pretty addictive feeling.’’
From that point, not one year passed
without Simon reaching one of the world’s
highest peaks.
Next was Europe’s Mount Elbrus in
Russia, then Denali, also called Mount
McKinley, in North America — the only
one of the seven where climbers don’t have
sherpas or porters.
‘‘Because it’s a first-world country there
is no cheap man power so you carry all your
own gear and food for the entire climb,’’
Simon says. ‘‘It’s extremely physically
demanding.’’
Fifth and sixth to be conquered were
Antarctica’s Vinson Massif and Australia’s
Mount Kosciuszko, which Simon climbed
over the past two years.
Between expeditions, he kept his day job
as an anaesthetist, and outside of work
hours trained by running and riding.
‘‘You forget that if you’re fit down here
it’s not the same as on the mountains
because you’re dealing with conditions like
high altitude and low temperatures,’’
Simon says. ‘‘It’s very extreme.’’
Days climbing the world’s highest
mountains are rollercoasters of highs
and lows.
There are hours, sometimes eight in a
row, hiking through deep snow and battling
near-vertical rock faces.
When the weather is bad, climbers are
confined to their tents to wait until they can
set off again, sometimes at midnight, for
more climbing.
Physical fitness, Simon discovered, is
only part of the challenge.
‘‘The mental demands are unbelievable,’’
he says. ‘‘The time involved, being away
Above: standing on the Geneva Spur
after the Everest summit; far left:
standing on Everest summit, May 21,
2013; left: at the base of the Lhotse Face
on ascent. Main photo: MITCH BEAR
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from home, the freezing temperatures,
living in a tent — there are a lot of times
where doubts start to creep into your mind
and you think, ‘What am I doing?’
‘‘But you just need to train yourself to
focus mentally on the peak and every time
I’d reach a summit it would all be worth
it again.
‘‘This sort of challenge definitely teaches
you how to stick to something.’’
But despite being goal-oriented by
nature, Simon admits he didn’t decide
to climb all seven peaks until it was
almost done.
‘‘It’s not something I set out to do
because I really didn’t think it was
achievable at first. But then it got to the
point last October where I realised I’d done
six and it was almost like a natural
progression.’’
Far from being just one last hurdle
though, Simon had left the biggest battle
until last.
‘‘Everest is by far the most demanding,’’
he says. ‘‘The altitude alone puts it in a
‘‘I guess it’s every boy’s dream to be a heroic
adventurer. You imagine yourself as one of
the people in the books. It’s so inspiring.’’
league of its own. It’s just so much higher
than anything else on Earth and takes so
long to climb.’’
Simon set off earlier this year and came
face to face with a ‘‘true monster’’.
The first renowned trial for climbers on
Everest comes at base camp.
‘‘Waiting at the bottom of the mountain
for summit rotation is really trying,’’ Simon
says. ‘‘You can be there for 12 days or more
in the cold waiting for weather and other
people and all you want to do is leave.
‘‘By the time we were ready to go
I’d
almost had enough and we hadn’t even
started yet.’’
Not far into the trek, climbers reach the
Khumbu Icefall, a glacier with ice blocks the
size of houses that can shift and tumble
down the slope at any time. This section is
climbed at night, when the temperatures are
lower and the ice is less likely to slip.
‘‘(For) the whole four hours no one is
particularly enjoying being in there,’’ Simon
says. ‘‘You’re just crossing your fingers until
you’re out.’’
Weeks of dangerous ascent followed,
enduring low oxygen levels, high altitudes and
bitter, cold days blurring into each other.
Finally, Simon reached ‘‘summit day’’ on
Everest, which started at 11pm the night
before in order to reach the peak at sunrise.
‘‘When I first got up I was kind of focusing
on packing up and getting ready for the
climb and it didn’t really hit me until we
were almost to the top,’’ Simon says.
At 8700m, Simon and his team reached
the final hurdle: a gentle slope of perfect,
untouched snow.
‘‘I remember just thinking, ‘I’m going to
make it. There’s no turning back. This is
actually going to happen’,’’ he recalls.
Minutes later, Simon took the final step of
his 16-year journey and stood at the top of
the world, under perfect blue skies.
‘‘It was very emotional,’’ says Simon,
struggling to find the words to describe the
moment. ‘‘Just phenomenal.’’
Earlier this month, Simon returned home
to a hero’s welcome.
‘‘The reaction has surpassed all my
expectations,’’ he says. ‘‘People have been
shaking my hand and congratulating me.
It’s very strange.’’
Weeks later, Simon has gone back to
work, but the adventurer is still enjoying
recounting his own incredible tales, like the
stories in the books from his youth.
There is one question everyone asks that
Simon has no answer for though.
‘‘What’s next?’’ he laughs. ‘‘I think for
now, that’s enough. It’s time to settle down.’’
‘‘I haven’t really realised what
it’s like for it to be over yet. I’m
still on a huge high.’’
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