March/April 2008 California Veterinarian

CVMA Member Profile Dr. Michael Andrews Aims to Stand on Top of the World

This spring Dr. Michael Andrews, a past president of the CVMA, will follow in the footsteps of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay when he climbs up the South Col of Mt. Everest.

Dr. Andrews will endure numbing cold, sleepless nights, soreness, nausea, chronic coughing, and boredom in the thin air above 26,000 feet. It may be 40 degrees below zero outside his tent, with strong winds. But if getting to the top of our planet’s highest was easy, it wouldn’t be special. One thing’s for sure: once he gets to the top, it’ll be all downhill from there.

Around March 23, Dr. Andrews, 51, will leave for 70 days to climb Mt. Everest. He wants to become one of the 200 people who have climbed the highest in each of the seven , commonly known as the “Seven Summits.” So far, he has climbed five of them.

Dr. Andrews’ Climbs of the Seven Summits

Date Climbed Summit Elevation (Country) (feet)

October 2004 Kilimanjaro 19,341 ()

June 2005 Mount McKinley 20,322 ()

January 2006 22,841 ()

August 2006 Elbrus 18,510 ()

December 2006 16,050

Planned for May Everest 29,029 (, ) 2008

TBA Carstensz Pyramid 16,024 ()

Dr. Andrews owns two small animal veterinary practices, one in Riverside and the other in Calimesa. He lives with his family in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, where he often takes hikes.

“There’s no substitute for walking lots with a heavy pack,” he says, regarding the preparation he’s making for climbing Mt. Everest. Dr. Andrews also sees a personal trainer three times a week to increase his core strength, aerobic fitness, and endurance.

Dr. Andrews started backpacking in his mid-thirties, making trips to the Grand Canyon and to Tibet. Soon he was leading Sierra Club National and International Outings. In due course, Dr. Andrews climbed Mt. Shasta (14,179 ft.) in California (succeeding on his third attempt with Dr. Marsha Birdsall, former CVMA House of Delegates Chair), and in 2003 he climbed Mt. Rainier (14,411 ft.) in Washington. Afterwards, he found himself seeking greater challenges.

He attempted to climb Aconcagua in 2004 with friend and fellow veterinarian Dr. Dave Granstrom (climbing partner on four of the Seven Summit climbs so far). Dr. Andrews reached camp at 16,000 feet, experienced ataxia, and was sent back down to base camp. Not reaching the summit was frustrating, but Dr. Andrews persevered with mountain climbing. He made it to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro that same year.

Dr. Tom Carpenter, a marathon runner, trail runner and fellow AAHA board member, recommended Dick Bass’s 1986 book, Seven Summits, about the first person to climb the highest mountains in each of the seven continents. After reading that book, the goal of climbing the Seven Summits just “kind of grabbed me,” says Dr. Andrews. Two years later he returned to conquer Aconcagua.

“I actually don’t look at climbing to the top of mountains as conquering them,” says Dr. Andrews. “The mountain cooperates with you is how I see it. But it’s an incredible feeling to have done what you set out to do and be on top of a mountain. It’s sure nice to feel like you achieved a goal. And you see incredible, breath-taking views that most people don’t get to experience.”

When he’s struggling on a climb, Dr. Andrews notes that, “It can be difficult to know whether attitude, altitude, illness or fitness level are at fault. Mental attitude is a big factor on these climbs and learning how to work with or around the inevitable discomfort can be almost as important as fitness.”

Dr. Andrews will be going up Everest with a guide who knows him well. Dr. Andrews notes that he and his guide may use a Sherpa–an ethnic Nepali group known for their high altitude climbing abilities–to help them on summit day.

“Climbing a mountain is not a lot different than running a veterinary practice–preparation is so valuable,” according to Dr. Andrews. “I am constantly staying prepared and looking forward. You have to recognize that you’ll get out of it what you put into the preparation and that carries over into other areas of my life.” He also acknowledges generous support from Hill’s, Merial, and CareCredit for his climbs.

Once he has climbed the Seven Summits, Dr. Andrews plans to take it a little easier. He may lead international climbing trips with the Sierra Club, and/or make veterinarian-related trips to look behind the scenes at tiger conservation, for example. He also has a photojournalism project in mind–an essay of everything that veterinarians do, including politics, interfacing with human medicine, training veterinarians in foreign countries–and maybe even climbing mountains.