Mike Boaz has raced sled dogs in Alaska, rafted some of the earth’s burliest rivers, and is now on his way to Mt. Everest to attempt to summit the highest peak on Earth.
The soft-spoken, unassuming 55-year-old Truckee plumbing contractor talks about his attempt to summit the highest peak on each continent as if it all happened by chance. He’s already ticked off six on the list, including Denali in Alaska, Aconcagua in South America, and Vinson Massif in Antarctica.
‘Everywhere there was a mountain, we just climbed it,’ Boaz said of rafting trips to Africa and South America that turned into climbing expeditions up Mt. Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua.
But Marc Goddard, who climbed three of the seven summits with Boaz, said beneath Boaz’s calm
exterior is a tenacious and talented climber.
‘He’s one of the strongest climbers I know,’ Goddard said. ‘He’ll be stronger than all the guides. If anyone can make Everest, he can make it.’
Boaz, who owns Truckee’s B&B Plumbing, will tackle the peak without a guide but with the help of a Sherpa.
Boaz boarded a plane to Kathmandu on March 28. By the end of May he hopes to be back in Truckee after navigating the Khumbu Icefall, climbing the Lhotse Face, and reaching Everest’s summit. If he succeeds, he’ll be one of a rarified group to climb the Earth’s seven summits. Then, Boaz said, he intends to take a little break.
‘I don’t have any plans after this,’ Boaz said.
