26 Feb Ryan Kushner Continues To Take Honoring Bob Valentine’s Memory to New Heights

Ryan atop the Summit of Aconcagua

Ryan Kushner, GSC at the Four Seasons Denver, is an avid mountain climber, having climbed countless peaks in honor of former Towne Park VP Organizational Development Bob Valentine.  Ryan just got back from his latest trip, and we wanted to update everyone on his adventures.  His words are below!

This recent trip was quite the adventure!  After nine days on the mountain, one of my teammates began to suffer from HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema), a life-threatening form of fluid accumulation in the lungs. This occurred after we had climbed 19,000ft, a height too high for most helicopters to make a rescue.

At that point, the chances of reaching the top of the mountain were very low, but in the spirit of Bob Valentine who put others first, I made sure my teammates were safely off the mountain before I ever considered continuing my ascent.

Before  beginning my ascent back up to the summit, I had to climb 6,000 vertical feet in one day – by myself! – from 13,600 ft. to 19,600 ft. to deliver their gear off the mountain.  

Following my descent, I rested a day before going back up the mountain unaccompanied. On January 14, 2014, I reached the 22,841 ft. summit of Mount Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the world outside of Asia. Unfortunately, I arrived at the summit by myself, so the photograph (click photo above to enlarge) did not turn out as good as I had hoped… but you can see the famous summit cross right behind me!

Of course, I am wearing the Towne Park beanie on the summit as well. It took me two weeks to summit the mountain, and two days to repel down the mountain. I look forward to going back to work for Towne Park again tomorrow after some much needed rest!

Check out more photos of Ryan’s trek up the mountain on our Facebook page here.