ExWeb interview with Lance Fox, "I was captured by Everest at a Ronald McDonald home"
Image of baby Yak enroute to Everest, ExWeb files.
Lance Fox ice climbing in his home state of WI.
Lance on the top of Pico de Orizaba, "My father died at age 36 of Hodgkin's disease. I was 16 at the time. His death reinforced to me that life truly is short, we must live it to the fullest." (Click to enlarge).
Lance by Schurman crevasse at Mount Rainier, "No matter how high I get on Everest, I hope my kids will see that if you put your mind to it, if you work hard at it, anything is possible." (Click to enlarge).
12:21 pm CDT Mar 19, 2009
(MountEverest.net) Attention Everest climbers and trekkers: if you encounter yaks enroute to BC marked with an X on their forehead you'll know Lance Fox was there.
Hooked on the Matrix Trilogy movies ("not sure why, perhaps it is because of the extreme impossibilities that seem so possible?") and bacon cheeseburger Pizza from Jolly Rogers (not expedition sponsor); the American veterinarian is headed to climb Everest with Himex on March 25 and ExWeb caught up with him for an interview. Here goes:
ExWeb: A surprising number of adventurers (such your fellow mountaineer Ed Viesturs) are or want to be veterinarian; why do you think that is and what made you choose the career?
Lance: For me it was not a hard decision. I grew up around animals, including dogs, cats and dairy cattle. To be a veterinarian you must love animals, first and foremost. To provide them with care to make their lives better is a significant reward.
ExWeb: As a mission for your sponsor and employer, Alpharma Inc., Animal Health Division, you will attempt to deworm the yaks enroute to Everest BC. How exactly will you do that?
Lance: I will be using a product called Safe-Guard, actually donated from another animal health company called Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, not from my employer/sponsor.
It is a product that is orally applied in cattle and cattle sub-types through a variety of ways (ie. pastes, liquids, etc.). I will actually be using the liquid suspension form via an applicator device. The device is placed in the corner of the yak's mouth and the finger trigger dispenses the product into the oral cavity.
ExWeb: Have you ever seen a Yak before? They are pretty big and grumpy animals - how do you think that they will respond to your treatment?
Lance: This will be my first experience with yaks directly (i.e. hands on) so yes, it could be very interesting for lack of a better term. Like domesticated cattle, I'm sure we'll get a few that won't want to cooperate. I think all in all we'll have success administering the product with the help of the yak owners.
ExWeb: How will you tell the difference between treated and untreated animals?
Lance: I am taking along cattle chalk markers. Essentially, they are markers (green and orange in color) that we rub on cattle to tell whether they have been treated or not. Eventually the chalk wears/washes off and is harmless to both the animals and the environment. I hope to mark them on the forehead.
ExWeb: Will you treat just about any yak or only your expedition porter-yaks?
Lance: I have enough product to do quite a few yak as our initial goal is to treat at least 100 head and yes, the first 100 will be in our expedition. If it goes well, I hope to keep the number growing. Ideally I would like to administer a second dose to them, about 6 weeks later or when we come off the mountain, hence the other reason for marking them with the colored chalk/paint.
If I cannot do it I will leave the extra product and hopefully teach the owners how to administer. The product if very safe and very efficient.
ExWeb: Why have you embarked on this mission; what is the worm-situation for yaks in Tibet and Nepal in general? Any interesting or quirky stuff we should know about yaks?
Lance: Believe it or not, yaks can contract gastrointestinal parasites just like domesticated cattle, whether from each other or even their domesticated partners. This occurs mainly while grazing down low where grass can be found.
Other wild animals can expose yaks to parasites as well. Beyond gastrointestinal 'bugs,' yak can also have parasites that inflict problems of the skin and liver too. The product I will be administered will mainly target the parasites classified as stomach worms, small intestinal worms and even lungworms.
ExWeb: Then you plan to climb Everest with fellow Jon Hansen from the flatlands of Wisconsin. How come you hooked up and where have you guys been training for the ascent?
Lance: I have known Jon for a number of years, well before either of us got hooked on climbing. We rediscovered our common interest a couple of years ago. Although we have not climbed big mountains together we do rock climb and ice climb here in the state of WI together. Our personalities are so much alike. Jon lives only 45 minutes away from me too. We have a special bond.
ExWeb: You hope to release some of your father's ashes at the top of the world - why is that and what happened to him?
Lance: My father died at age 36 of Hodgkin's disease. I was 16 at the time. His death reinforced to me that life truly is short, we must live it to the fullest. My tribute to his courage and guidance is to hopefully release his ashes atop the highest point on our planet.
ExWeb: How did you get the idea to climb Everest to begin with?
Lance: Ironically I was captured by Everest in November of 1997, a couple days after my son Jordan was born. He was born 6-weeks early and had to spend 11 days in a neonatal intensive care unit.
During that time my wife and I stayed at a Ronald McDonald home as the hospital where Jordan was at was a significant distance from our home. I remember picking up the book titled, "Everest, Mountain Without Mercy" and read it cover to cover in a day. The bug struck!
Even though a portion of the book spoke of the tragedies on Everest, in particular the 1996 disaster, I was fascinated by this place and knew that someday I would go there. And go there I will! I've always had a love for the outdoors and for mountains. The bigger the more fascinating.
ExWeb: What is your previous experience? Specifically climbing?
Lance: I have done several 14ners in Colorado (Harvard, Columbia and Long's Peak). I have climbed Mount Rainier in the US and La Maniche, Ixta, and Pico de Orizaba in Mexico. I would love to have climbed a few more big mountains prior to Everest yet we have to grab the opportunities when they arise, as long as they are within reason.
ExWeb: Biggest fear?
Lance: Although I do not dwell on it, death is the obvious 'big fear.' I'm not sure how my body will react at extreme altitude. Does anyone really know no matter how many times you have climbed and/or how high?
ExWeb: Greatest hope?
Lance: No matter how high I get on Everest, I hope my kids (my son Jordan is 11 and daughter Bailee is 9) will see that if you put your mind to it, if you work hard at it, anything is possible. My greatest hope therefore is for the success in my own childrens' lives.
ExWeb: What does your family think about the expedition?
Lance: At first the news was shocking yet as time has gone on and their involvement with my training and preparation has grown I believe they are excited for me. Their support has grown over the past year when I first broke the news of this opportunity.
Sure, their dad/husband is going to be gone longer than he ever has been before (longest time away for work was ~12 days) and that is the most difficult. It is normal for loved ones to worry about me. The goal is not necessarily to summit but to come back safely to family and friends. The summit is the icing on the cake, so to say.
ExWeb: After Everest - any thoughts of that yet?
Lance: Haven't gotten that far given my mind has been focusing on the task at hand. I do hope that people will be inspired to go after their dreams and not let life pass them by.
Lance Fox, 38, will be climbing the South col route in Nepal as part of the Himalayan Experience Expedition led by Russell Brice.
Technical Service Manager and Veterinarian for a specialty pharmaceutical company called Alpharma Animal Health based in Bridgewater, NJ; Lance lives near New London, WI, with wife Katherine and their two kids, son Jordan age 11 and daughter Bailee age 9.
Hobbies include a variety of sports including mountain biking, climbing, snowshoeing in the winter and weightlifting, hunting, particularly wild turkey hunting, ("I know, seems strange being a veterinarian yet hunting is about being in the outdoors more than the hunt itself") and drawing portraits of animals, "a talent I naturally picked up thanks to my father's genes."
Team mate Jon Hansen and his wife Connie are self-employed entrepreneurs with multiple businesses (Shell gas station with a Taco Johns restaurant, a videography business called Video Concepts LLC, etc.), all based in Wautoma, WI. "A great guy with a lot of spirit and enthusiasm! I'm so glad he is my partner on this adventure."
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