10 Days before I leave on this epic adventure to the Top of the World! I am extremely excited to have you follow along on this adventure of a lifetime. For those who don’t know my full story, I am from Oregon, Illinois, a very small town west of Chicago by about 90 miles. I Graduate Arizona State and move to Tamarindo Costa Rica. I own a surf shop (Iguana Surf) and surf camp with my sister and also operate a general contracting company called Iguana Construction.
I got into Mountain climbing in 2015 when I was invited to climb Kilimanjaro in Africa. It was an amazing adventure and I was hooked. I quickly signed up for mountaineering school and tackled Mt Rainier via the kautz glacier. I then went on to climb Aconcagua, just short of 23,000 ft. Three months later I attempted Denali and got weathered at 14 camp (14,000 ft) We ran into a nine day storm with 100 mph wind gusts at the summit and average temps colder than -30 degrees. After 19 days and our permits set to expire we hiked out. Although I didn’t summit Denali (YET) I got to experience a big mountain expeditions in a very extreme climate. I naturally or unnaturally loved it. I then climbed several smaller mountains, building experience until I headed to Indonesia and teamed up with Madison Mountaineering to climb The Carstensz Pyramid. We had a great and successful climb and I joined the 2019 expedition for Mt Everest. I will be climbing with a great company, a few friends I have met along the way and what seems to be a very strong team. I can’t wait to meet them all and learn their stories!
I set this blog up for my family and friends to follow along on this incredible adventure and I hope you get to enjoy my experiences in the comforts of your home and not on a frozen mat, in a tiny tent, in negative temps, miles above the earth for over 8 weeks. I have already been asked “WHY, WHY DO YOU DO IT?” honestly I could give you all the cliche responses, (because its there!, to see the beauty of the mountains, all good answers) but when it comes down to it, I just love the personal challenge. Its me against myself up there. There is no bigger reward than the self confidence and sense of accomplishment you receive after completing a journey like this. Thanks for following along and send any questions you may have and I will try to answer them when I can.
Cheers!
Frosty On Everest 
cgaston: love your blog. Learned about it from Alan Arnett. I’m fascinated by Everest. Got hooked on the subject after reading Jon Krackour’s book years ago. I will be following you every day and wishing you the best. Thanks for doing this.
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Wow, Chad…never in a million years, when I taught you so many years ago at FCS, in the tiny village of Grand Detour, would I have expected to find out you had opened a surf shop in Costa Rica–much less climb Mt. Everest!!…And yet, I can totally see you doing both!! 🙂 Congratulations to you! I cannot even imagine what it must be like, but this blog is amazing and gives everyone just a glimpse of what you must be experiencing. Apparently I found out about this amazing feat at the end of it (you are in the paper today!), but I will be praying for you today and in the days and weeks to come. Take good care of yourself! Fondly, “Miss Ranz” (Carolyn Smoot)
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Thanks teach
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