Meet Louise McEvoy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Louise McEvoy.

Hi Louise, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I moved from Canada to the US, by myself. I went through a major life change and needed to get away and my boss agreed to move me with the company. I arrived in San Francisco and loved being in California in January, where it was sunny and warm; whereas Ottawa was in the dead of winter. But I was lonely, I didn’t know anyone and the office was a satellite location, so very few people actually went to the office.

A friend of mine suggested that I read a book, for something to do on the weekend. It was a book about the 1996 Everest disaster that killed many people. As tragic as the story was, it ignited something in me that I didn’t know existed. The desire to see Mount Everest in real life. I made a promise to myself that I’d see the mountain one day – not climb it (because I’m not a climber!).

Four years later, I was laid off from a different job. I got a severance package and I had nowhere to go the next day. I went online and found an adventure company, leaving in 2 weeks, to Kathmandu, Nepal to take 16 clients to Everest Base Camp; 15 spots were taken, and I grabbed the last one. I arrived in Kathmandu, flew to Lukla, Nepal, and the group made our way along the Base Camp trail.

One day, we turned a corner and there was Everest, in all her beauty. I fulfilled one promise to myself, so I made another – one day, I was going to climb that mountain! After 14 years of climbing the highest mountains around the world for training, I made the summit of Everest on my first try. I thought my journey was over, but a new one was just beginning and I didn’t even realize it.

Since summiting, I’ve continued to climb, while working full-time. I’ve been asked to speak about my journey to schools, Boy Scouts, corporations, women’s groups, and much more. I’ve talked about motivation, inspiration, and training over 85 times, in 5 countries, and on 4 continents. Numerous people have since told me the changes they made in their lives, since listening to my story. I’m grateful, and very humbled.

I started a small business, The Climbing Executive, with my sister. We’ve always wanted to work together but didn’t know what that looked like. From one weekend trip, we determined our joint goal – our business is centered around speaking, writing, and leadership workshops – with a backdrop of lessons from the mountain.

I also co-founded SheSummits14ers with a friend of mine; an experience weekend that introduces women to hiking non-technical 14ers in Colorado. To date, over 100 women have made the summit of a 14er; something they never knew existed, or ever thought they could accomplish. It’s been so rewarding for me to introduce people to my passion, and for them to also be inspired by the mountains!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Climbing mountains at high altitudes is risky, expensive, takes an extraordinary amount of time, and is oftentimes a very selfish sport. To train for Everest, 6 months before leaving, I was in the gym 5 days a week, from 4 am to 7 am on the stairclimber, to build muscle memory and endurance. On Saturdays, I’d hike to 10K feet, with ankle weights and rocks in my backpack. Sundays were rest days, then the week started and I’d do it all over again.

I made a promise to myself that if I didn’t make the summit, it wasn’t due to lack of fitness. I travel frequently for work, so I used a lot of hotel gyms (mostly treadmills); was mostly out of my time zone and always tired. I was also trying to be as healthy as possible, so if anyone was sick, I stayed away as much as possible. Catching a cold could take me away from training for up to 3 weeks, and I couldn’t risk that.

When on the mountain, I got the “Khumbu” cough from inhaling dry, glacier air. I coughed non-stop for 6 weeks and pulled two ribs, I also got a chest cold and couldn’t breathe – there are no pharmacies on Everest, and the Base Camp doctors only had so much cold medicine. I had no idea how I was going to make the summit.

Climbing the Lhotse Face was agony; my breathing pulled my ribs and stuffed up my nose. But something changed in me on that Face… I decided to accept the pain and continue moving up. I still hurt, but I was no longer consumed by it. It was like a switch was turned on in my head to put the pain aside, I’ll never forget that moment. I made the summit and loved being on top of the world! I knew the descent was more dangerous and I hurried off to get down to Camp 4.

On the descent, I stepped off a steep ridge and my knee popped out. It was surprising and I screamed in agony. My Sherpa looked back at me, I pointed to my knee, and he shrugged his shoulders and carried on. At 28k feet, there was no rescue and the only option was to keep moving. Again, I went deeper into my mind accepted the pain, and continued on (I’ve since had two ACL replacements to fix that knee!).

I’m grateful for the challenges I faced; I discovered something in me that I never knew I had – strength, resilience, and determination that was unflappable. I use that inner strength to this day because I know it’s there, I just need to dig deep to realize it. We all have it, but sometimes it takes being pushed to your limits to realize just how strong you are!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m the Vice President of Channel Sales at a global, multi-billion-dollar cybersecurity company. I’ve been in this business for most of my career and I’m grateful to have found something that’s interesting and challenging.

I’m also grateful to my company for encouraging me to take the two months off work that I needed in order to climb Everest – there was just one caveat – I had to come back alive! I’m happy to say that I made the summit, came back alive, and have since embarked on a journey, outside of my day job, that I never knew existed. Speaking, guiding, writing, workshops. It’s been a thrill!

Who else deserves credit in your story?
My sister, Susan McEvoy-Hilton. On one of the women’s 14er weekends, she saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. I have strength in reading the mountain, conditions, and weather; adapting the hike to the abilities of the group; providing basic first aid; carrying extra loads to support the team… and the overall passion I have for the mountains. From that, we created The Climbing Executive, to offer guiding, speaking, writing, and workshops. She’s the brains behind the business, I’m just the face underneath my beanie!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theclimbingexecutive.com
• Instagram: @theclimbingexecutive and @shesummits.14ers

Image Credits
Laura Bravo Mertz