When Steve Cook, CGCS, says his upcoming climb of the mountain known as Ama Dablam is part of a long journey, he's talking about much more than ascending a Himalayan peak rising more than 22,000 feet into the air.
Throughout Cook's career, scaling geological formations have been part vacation, part physical workout and part mental escape. But the pending climb of Ama Dablam is even more significant for Cook. The 56-year-old director of agronomy at famed Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, has turned the trip to Nepal into a fundraising effort that will benefit critically ill children in Michigan.By turning to social media, Cook has raised about $30,000 through donations. That money will help fulfill dreams for four Michigan kids through Make-A-Wish America.
Cook and his wife, Robin, don't have children of their own, but the Michigan chapter of Make-A-Wish has been near and dear to them since Robin served the nonprofit entity in a volunteer capacity a decade ago.
"I talked to my wife about how I could turn this into something bigger," Cook said. "That's how the Make-A-Wish Foundation came to the surface."
Cook is scheduled to leave for Nepal on Oct. 17 and will return Nov. 19. In between he, along with two other climbers, a coach and as many as a half-dozen sherpa, will ascend Ama Dablam, with an elevation of 22,349 feet.
Throughout the fundraising process, Cook has crossed paths with a lot of people, and he figures he will meet more throughout the trip. He has been reading up on Buddhism and Nepalese culture so he can totally immerse himself in the experience.
"I don't know who I'm going to meet on the way over there, or when I get there and how my life will change due to that," he said. "This is just part of the journey.
"I want to tag that summit, but if I don't, I won't be devastated. I've already reached the summit through the donations I received."
Cook wanted to raise money at the rate of $1 per foot of climb. Even the people at Make-A-Wish told him they believed that goal was as lofty as Ama Dablam's summit. He turned to social media and soon, donations poured in from friends, family, colleagues, club members, people he hadn't talked to in years and total strangers."I figured I'd have to have a garage sale," he said. " I received $20 here, $100 there from people I don't even know.."
Make-A-Wish, which grants wishes to children diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions, already have been identified four children who will benefit from Cook's climb.
"The driving force for me has been knowing that nothing I go through compares to what these kids are facing," he said. "It puts everything in perspective.
"This experience is about more than the climb. Reaching the summit is only about 10 percent of the experience. The other 90 percent is about the rest of the experience."
An experienced climber, Cook has been to the top of places such as the Grand Tetons in Wyoming and Washington's Mount Rainier. Although Ama Dablam is somewhat dwarfed by nearby Mount Everest's 29,000-foot summit, it outshines anything else he's climbed so far. The climb will take about two weeks, while descent takes about two days. The climb up will require getting used to oxygen depletion of nearly 50 percent that occurs at such heights.
"At 22,000 feet it is going to feel like someone is standing on your chest," he said.
"My cup already is overflowing. If it's in God's plans for me to summit that mountain, I will; if not, I won't. Make no mistake, I want that summit pretty bad, but I'm trying to keep everything in perspective."