Click here for some action-packed footy

Residence: Taos, New Mexico

Dave Hahn

Career Highlights
Dave Hahn has the envious distinction of having stood atop of Mount Everest eight times. He has also made 24 ascents of Antarctica's Vinson Massif where, he, along with six other climbers, put up a new route on Vinson's East flank, now called the Hahn Headwall. Most significantly, Hahn was a member of the Mallory and Irvine expedition that found the lost body of George Mallory high on the slopes of Everest, where it had lain for 75 years.

***

(MZ) My most memorable experience in mountaineering came when...(DH) I made the top of Everest in 1994 and survived a night out, alone and having run out of oxygen in a snowstorm at around 28,000 feet.

I’ve been successful as a mountaineer because...I’ve had a lot of good people to learn from and I’ve remembered to be scared of death.

The last thought in my mind just before I head up the mountain is...usually a little too cluttered. Often when I begin a climb, my brain is still full of e-mails and phone calls I haven’t done and need to do - it is only when I really get out and get my heart and lungs going that I get the focus I thrive on and can appreciate the beauty around me.

I am most proud of...the four times I’ve turned around within a thousand feet of Everest’s summit, and my ability to still work a snow shovel effectively.

My experience has helped me...keep track of the "big picture" while on climbing expeditions. When I was younger, I couldn’t always figure out how to pace myself so as to stay strong throughout a long trip and be at my best for the summit push. I’ve gotten better at that.

Confidence is something you...can muddle through without. I’m always amazed at the "real" athletes that I’m so frequently around. They aren’t generally stronger than me, just much more confident and sure of themselves - able to banish thoughts of failure, whereas I’ve managed to stay alive for so many years on skis and crampons in dangerous places because I regularly entertain thoughts of failure.

I am different from most other guys in that...I don’t really take vacations.

I live by the phrase..."do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

If I had a younger brother, one piece of life advice I would give him is...make a lot of money so that you can support your older brother someday.

— MountainZone.com Staff