Former Raider Mark Pattison Begins Mount Everest Climb
A former Raider will soon be standing at the highest point in the world.
This isn’t hypothetical.
Former Silver and Black wide receiver Mark Pattison have begun his journey to climb Mount Everest.
This is actually the last of the seven summits of the world that Pattison is climbing.
"At the time, when I made this goal, no NFL player had done the seven summits,” Pattison told Sports Illustrated’s Raider Maven last month. “In 2019, this gentleman who played, he's older than me by a decade I believe, actually completed the seven, so last year when Covid hit, I decided to do a major pivot.”
It doesn’t stop there.
Pattison will be climbing Lhotse within 24 hours of climbing Mt. Everest.
"No NFL player has ever done that, I'll be the oldest, and there's only a handful of people who have ever done it, period," Pattison said.
Plus, he’s doing it for a good cause. Pattison created the "Emilia's Everest and Lhotse Challenge," a campaign to raise money and awareness for epilepsy.
The campaign is named after his daughter Emilia, who suffers from epilepsy.
Last year, Pattison raised over $29,029 (the height of Mt. Everest) for "Emilia's Everest and Lhotse Challenge" to build awareness for the National Epilepsy Foundation.
He then partnered with Higher Ground to raise $56,972. That sum represents the heights of Everest and Lhotse combined.
Pattison also thanked the Raider organization, which donated money to his cause.
“Shout-out to the Raiders, they were over the top, over the moon generous," Pattison said. "When I tap back into so many people who have been supportive of this journey, it really warms my heart and helps me to keep pushing through."
As for the climb itself, it’s intense and quite literally life-risking. Pattison revealed he’s trained heavily by taking part in a daily CrossFit class, riding on his Peloton and weight training.
“When I go to the top [of Everest], the Death Zone, camp four, which is the highest camp, is at 26,000 feet, and the top is at 29,000 feet,” Pattison said. “That is up in the jet stream, it gets pretty insane up there.”
"Anybody can climb, but if you don't do it in the right way, then people die, and it's reality. Three percent of people who go climb Mt. Everest this year will die. That's a fact. It happens every year.”
Pattison began his climb yesterday at Mt. Everest Base Camp.
Sports Illustrated’s Raider Maven will keep you updated as Pattison posts updates to his Instagram.
To support and donate to the “Emilia’s Everest and Lhotse Challenge,” visit their website here.
For more on Mark Pattison, his journey and his story, visit www.markpattisonnfl.com.
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