CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WSVN) — The expression goes “everyone has their own Everest to climb,” but one Illinois man took it literally and embarked on a treacherous journey.
Nick Selby said it’s been his lifelong dream to reach new heights, and while climbing Mount Everest certainly wasn’t easy, adventure runs in his DNA.
These days, the gym is where Selby pushes his limits until everything just clicks into place, but no matter what load one carries, there’s always one step higher to climb.
“I wouldd probably be at this pace here at 5 and doing it for an hour and a half, two hours,” he said
Selby, who calls Champaign, Illinois home. has already been to the top. Of everything.
“Way worse up there,” he said,
When asked, why climb Everest, he replied, “Because it’s there.”
Mount Everest stands 29,032 feet above sea level. The snow glistens like diamonds there, and the wind howls through the jagged Himalayan peaks.
Not all who climb this peak make it down..
“Everything that you do see about Everest, in terms of, like, the dead bodies and all of that, it’s very true,” said Selby.
And even those who do pay a price.
“It’s a nightmare. You can prepare for it all you want, but until you see it, it’s something else,” said Selby.
Selby is as lucky as he is prepared.
“I’ve worked pretty much all my life to get here,” he said.
He listed the many obstacles he faced.
“I absolutely despise that icefall. Everything is trying to kill you. There was an avalanche. Every time you take a step, it feels like your heart is going to, like explode almost. It’s very painful,: he said. “You haven’t slept in 24 hours, almost. It still doesn’t feel real, but it happened.”
For Selby, it did happen, back in May, and the proof is something he can still see, in pictures, video, a rock and the U.S. flag he took there.
His feet are thankfully back on firmer and warmer ground.
“It worked out for me. I’m very lucky to say that,” he said.
Selby said is now interested in safer hobbies.
“I told my whole family that I’m just going to take up pickleball,” he said.
While Selby is moving away from high-risk climbs, he’s still considering climbing Mount Whitney in California.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
