10 Essential Questions: Jeremy Fuerst

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to...

Name: Jeremy Fuerst
Hometown: The mountaineering mecca of Nebraska 
Member Since: October 2017
Occupation: Pastor
Favorite Activities: Mountaineering, climbing, hiking 

10 Essentials: Questions

How did you get involved with The Mountaineers?

I had several attempts on Mt. Rainier with a guide agency before I realized that the prohibitive cost meant I was not going to climb many mountains unless I developed my own set of skills and met other like-minded people. My personal trainer, Leigh Ann Wolfe, is a Mountaineer who strongly encouraged me to enroll in the Basic Alpine class. I have been grateful to her ever since.

What motivates you to get outside with us?

Well for one thing, my wife never worries when I am on a Mountaineers climb! She knows I am with responsible teammates who have the necessary skills, etc. to be safe. On every single scramble or climb I have met people I would love to climb with again. I love sharing the deep sense of wonder and awe that only the wilderness can provide. And not to get all melancholy, but I want to see as much of these glaciers as I can before they are gone.

What's your favorite Mountaineers memory?

Last year I was on a team that summited Glacier Peak in freezing rain. After a long day of route-finding in low visibility while soaked to the bone, my tentmate and I returned to camp to find our sleeping pads and sleeping bags floating in a pool of water. My teammates mustered up what dry layers had been left behind in the tents, as well as an emergency blanket and a bivy bag. I spent the night shivering in the tent, eating a large chocolate bar I had brought to share with the rest of the team in order to take in calories. The next morning I awoke to a beautiful sunrise and the realization that my tentmate Nikola had spent the entire night outside. He is tougher than nails!

Who/What inspires you?

Every single trip report and set of pics that I see from another Mountaineer keeps me going! It is as if for every summit I cross off my list, two or three more sprout up in its place. While I may never approach the level of greatness displayed by my heroes in The Mountaineers, they have each shown me that I am capable of pursuing my own set of summit dreams.

What does adventure mean to you?

Adventure means pursuing challenges outside a risk-free environment while relying on one's own skill set as well as the cohesion and collective skills of a team. Adventure means taking on the vulnerability and responsibility of acknowledging one's own mortality in a context far bigger and more ancient than one's own isolated self.

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