Tracee Metcalfe, a clinical doctor from Colorado, is on her way to Shisha Pangma. If she summits, she will become the first U.S. woman to complete the 14×8,000’ers.
Exactly one year ago on the same peak, a fierce race between two other American women for this mountaineering “first” led to their deaths, alongside their two guiding sherpas. Metcalfe shares the goal but not the approach. Speaking to ExplorersWeb before she travels to Tibet, she says she does not wish to get involved in a competition.
Climbing to reset
Metcalfe began climbing 35 years ago. She started to focus on climbing 8,000’ers in 2015. Over the last two years, she has picked up the pace, not hoping for a world record, but rather because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I have taken the past two years off from full-time hospital practice to focus on climbing and to take a much-needed break/reset from hospital medicine after the challenges posed by COVID,” Metcalfe explained.
Once she is done with the 8,000’ers, she’ll return to full-time clinical medicine, with an emphasis on outpatient preventive care.
Since 2022, Imagine Nepal has outfitted all of Metcalfe’s expeditions. “I have now summited nine 8,000’ers with them. At this point, it feels like climbing with friends and family,” she said.
Metcalfe and Dawa Gyalje Sherpa on Gasherbrum I. Photo: Tracee Metcalfe
Changing times
Through her long climbing career, Metcalfe has witnessed the evolution of high-altitude mountaineering, especially the commercial side.
The most significant change I’ve observed is the speed at which climbers are summiting the 8,000m peaks and the number of peaks that individuals are attempting in a single season. For better or worse, Nirmal Purja has shattered the notion that it is impossible to climb multiple 8,000m peaks in a short period.
When I first started climbing at this altitude in 2014, I worked with Russell Brice and Himex, and it was widely believed that summiting an 8,000m peak required around 60 days. This made climbing multiple peaks in a single season an extraordinary feat.
I also notice many more climbers attempting lesser-known 8,000m peaks who do not fit the mold of traditional mountaineers. In the past, those who took on these remote challenges often had dedicated much, if not all, of their adult lives to the sport. Today, however, more climbers are venturing into these remote areas without a lifelong commitment to climbing. While I don’t necessarily view this trend as negative, as it allows more people to experience these incredible peaks, I do have concerns about those who appear to be more focused on self-promotion on social media.
Three 8,000’ers in summer
This past summer, she climbed both Gasherbrums and Broad Peak in Pakistan. Relentless bad weather during July and very difficult conditions on the Gasherbrum glacier made things tricky, but her team eventually succeeded.
“Climbing in Pakistan is characterized by less infrastructure and a more rugged, remote environment compared to Nepal,” Metcalfe said, noting the lack of helicopter services.
“However, I like the remoteness of the peaks and value the cohesiveness of the team during an expedition. People are not distracted by trips to hotels for recuperation, or managing perceived business emergencies. Additionally, I appreciate the minimal cell phone coverage. I prefer engaging with my team rather than being glued to our devices.”
On the summit of Broad Peak, summer 2024. Photo: Dawa Gyalje
Records on Shisha Pangma
Things will be different in the fall. Metcalfe is on her way to Tibet for the last stage of her 14×8,000’er project. She will be surrounded by an unprecedented number of climbers with one or more Guinness World Records in mind.
Asked about how she feels about Shisha Pangma, Metcalfe described “a combination of accomplishment and satisfaction about almost finishing a nine-year project and sadness that this incredible journey is almost over.” She did not mention the record.
Everyone heading for Shisha Pangma will have a hard time forgetting what happened last year. Four lives were lost in one of the worst disasters in the history of commercial expeditions.
Shisha Pangma from the Tibetan plains. Photo: Sasko Kedev
The 2023 tragedy
Metcalfe and her team were on the mountain when two avalanches struck, burying Anna Gutu and Migmar Sherpa, and then Gina Rzucidlo and Tenjen Lama. They were among the first to share the story of the drama that unfolded around them.
Although no members of the Imagine Nepal team were caught in the slides, a fall injured leader Mingma G while he was helping to save other climbers.
The routes and the location of the first (“prima”) and second (“seconda”) avalanche on Shisha Pangma, Oct. 7. Photo: Mario Vielmo
Now Metcalfe is returning and naturally feeling some apprehension. She is positive her team will tackle the mountain carefully.
“I believe that our team will not be in a hurry. It can make decisions about when to climb and attempt the summit, based only on conditions on the mountain and not influenced by competition,” Metcalfe said.
She hopes all the teams will work together to ensure a safe climbing season. “I also hope we can spend some time reflecting on the people who died last year and paying respect to them.”
First American female – so what?
If all goes well, Metcalfe will take the “first” that had obsessed Gutu and Rzucidlo. She will become the first American woman to complete the 14×8,000’ers. Yet, she feels no pressure and doesn’t think it is a big deal.
“For me, this project is primarily about striving to summit all the peaks rather than becoming the first American woman to do so,” she said. “Considering that climbers like Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and Edurne Pasaban achieved these summits in a far more challenging style, without relying on supplemental oxygen or sherpas to carry their loads, what I’m attempting feels comparatively modest.”
Metcalfe has no intention to give up mountaineering after completing her project.
“I have been climbing mountains since I was a teenager, so I’ll keep climbing for sure,” she said. “I imagine that after Shisha Pangma I will spend some time climbing the mountains here in Colorado and neighboring states with my friends. I would also like to focus a bit more on ski mountaineering.”
