Fox News' Mike Tobin completes risky Everest climb and shares details of high-stakes summit
Fox News Senior Correspondent Mike Tobin has completed one of the riskiest feats in the world: climbing Mount Everest.
Along with a team, Tobin hiked the mountain in the Himalayas, reaching the highest point on Earth.
Tobin was back on the channel, joining "America's Newsroom" on Friday from China to share the details of his experience.
"Some people say weather-wise, it was one of the best summit windows they've seen in like 20 years," said Tobin.
"And you compare that to the other people who climbed this Everest season, most of them got beat up on the summit."
He said that his team saw people going down the mountain with "big black mittens on," indicating that "they were covering up frostbite damage."
Tobin shared that when he reached the summit, it was a little bit cloudy.
"I'm very well aware that 90% of the accidents happen on the way down and so you're tired, you're a little hypoxic, and it was a moment of concentration for me," said Tobin.
"I wanted to make sure that I didn't let up because we still had a long way to get down to advanced base camp."
In 2023, 12 climbers were reported dead while five went missing following 478 hiking permits issued by Nepal, according to Reuters.
"I was just trying to think, 'Keep your head about yourself. Don't make any mistakes, don't turn what's otherwise going to be a celebration into a tragedy.'"
About 700 to 1,000 climbers attempt the summit each year, with success rates ranging between 60% and 70%, according to Climbing Kilimanjaro.
"Keep your head about yourself. Don't make any mistakes."
Tobin said that he "certainly was spooked at different times on the climb," sharing that it hit him when he came back down on the second step.
The second step is on the northeast ridge of Mount Everest, one of three major obstacles.
He said it was a bit "odd" as he "was pretty enthused on the way up," but added other team members shared that the moment was spooky for them, too.
While in the "death zone," Tobin participated in the 22 Pushup Challenge to raise awareness about the issue of veteran and first responder suicide.
"The only way you survive the death zone is to get in and out of there as fast as you can before the sand runs out of your hourglass or before the oxygen runs out of your bottle," said Tobin.
The "death zone" is an area above 26,247 ft. on the mountain; the air is too thin to support human life without supplemental oxygen.
"It was kind of an add-on to the climb … You've seen some of the different events that people have done as far as the 22 push-ups in recognition of veteran suicide," said Tobin.
"I hope that a troubled guy out there somewhere who was looking at suicide as a reasonable response to his troubles will realize that someone took the time to do that in a perilous situation and reconsider before he hurts himself," he added.
Tobin credited his wife for keeping him on track during his preparation leading up to the hike.
"Between work and training for Everest, there really wasn't any time, and she ran the house and made sure I got fed."
He shared that the training process was pretty arduous.
"I did crazy kinds of training, like I'd take the sandbags that our cameramen use, and I put them in a backpack, and I ran up and down the Indiana Sand Dunes for hours at a time," said Tobin.
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Associated Press
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Tourists are our life, tourism is our lifeline. God knows what sin we're paying for," he adds, despairingly. Ravi Gosain, president of Indian Association of Tour Operators, who recently led a three-day "fact-finding trip" of tour operators - as "they are the ones who send travellers to Kashmir" says "for the past few years tourism was flourishing in Kashmir, lots of new hotels had been built, new vehicles were bought and new shops had opened". Last year, the government said 23.6 million tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir, with 3.49 million visiting the valley. This year, Mr Gosain says, the peak season has been lost in the valley, but tourism can still pick up. "Locals are very welcoming, hoteliers, tour guides and shopkeepers are very friendly and people are coming back. You can see it – all flights are coming in full, tourism is bouncing back quickly. "I think the national sentiment is that if the purpose of the attack was to derail tourism, then it won't succeed. But I hope no untoward incident happens again," he adds. According to reports, some of the credit for the revival of tourism in Kashmir also goes to a new train link that has for the first time connected Srinagar with the rest of India. The twice-daily train from Srinagar to Katra station, in Jammu region – which recently made headlines for passing over "the world's highest single-arch railway bridge" – has been running packed and tickets have been sold out for the next two months. Katra, which is the starting point for those visiting the popular Hindu shrine of Vaishno Devi, attracted 9.48 million pilgrims last year. And many of those arriving there since 7 June, when the spanking new air-conditioned train was commissioned, have been hopping on it to go to Kashmir. Among the pilgrims taking advantage of the easy connectivity is Ghanshyam Bharadwaj and his wife Mamata Sharma and their children. For the Delhi-based couple enjoying hot sugary tea near the Dal Lake, coming to Srinagar was "a spur of the moment decision". "It took us just three hours from Katra. We'll spend the night here and take the train back to Katra tomorrow and travel on to Delhi," Mr Bharadwaj said. "I ask him if he was worried travelling to the valley so soon after the Pahalgam attack? "There's nothing to be afraid of. This is my country," he says. Chief Minister Abdullah says the fact that the pilgrims are choosing to come to the valley is a good start. "Now those who are coming for a few hours, I'd like to see them come for a few days. Those who are coming for a few days, I'd like to see them having the confidence to stay for a week. "But at least it's a beginning, and that's what helps." Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
