Spring 2016 - 65
www.turftrends.com
ONE RISK TAKEN WILL
HELP KIDS IN NEED.
That's the best takeaway from an attempted
ascent up Nepal's Ama Dablam, a 22,349-
foot mountain that's considered more
technical than Mount Everest.
Steve Cook, golf course superintendent at
Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfi eld
Hills, Mich., met his ultimate goal by
actually surpassing the fundraising goal
he set for the Michigan chapter of Make-
A-Wish but fell agonizingly short of the
summit.
"I'm not sure I've fully dealt with it all yet
to tell you the truth," Cook, 56, said during
an interview on Jan. 5. "It seems like every
night I'm processing it with my wife. And
I've been back almost what six weeks
now."
TURNING BACK
Cook, his two climbing partners, and their
guide and Sherpas reached 20,000 feet in
November after 23 days of climbing. They
were about 18 hours away from reaching
the top.
Their lead guide, Brian Warren, felt
conditions were too dangerous to continue
due to hazardous rock conditions.
"We had to turn around at the base of the
Grey Tower," Cook said. "Having traveled
9,000 miles and halfway around the globe
to get turned around less than a day away
from the summit was diffi cult, but I made a
promise to everybody I knew and to myself
well before I left that the number one goal
is not to get hurt."
According to Cook, only about 30 to
50 percent of big mountain summits are
successful.
Steve
Cook arrives in
Nepal for his expedition
up Mount Ama Dablam, which
means "Mother's necklace." The
long ridges on each side of the
mountain are like the arms of
the mother protecting
her child.
VIDEO
