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Dr Sutcliffe on top of the world!

Peak practice

When Andrew Barton heard a North Yorkshire doctor was running up and down Scarborough beach, pulling tyres behind him, to get strong enough to climb Everest, he couldn't wait to find out why climbing to the top of your profession, can sometimes mean going up 29, 035 feet.

AB: Why do you want to raise the money – is it because as a Doctor you’ve seen the good work St Catherine’s Hospice in Scarborough does?

AS: Yes. St Catherine’s Hospice, being a local charity, touches many lives in the area. I’ve seen it through my work and also through friends who’ve been through St Catherine’s and they do a fantastic job, on the very little finance budget they have to work from.

AB: How much are you hoping to raise for them?

AS: Ten Thousand Pounds. Quite how close I get to that remains to be seen - it depends on the generosity of the public and the local companies... I’ve financed my entire party expedition myself, which has cost me probably about thirty thousand pounds, I guess, in total.

AB: How many mountains are you going to climb?

AS: I’ve already climbed Mount Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America. I’ve climbed Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America and Vinson, which is the highest peak in Antarctica. So after Everest, hopefully, if I’m successful, I’ll go to New Guinea to climb Carstensz Pyramid and then to Russia to climb Mount Elbrus and last of all, hopefully, to Mount Kilimanjaro, which I’d like to do with Clare my wife, that being the highest peak in Africa. I’m leaving the easiest one till last, because it would be fantastic to celebrate it with Clare.

AB: How do you fit in to the busy life of a Doctor climbing the world’s highest mountains?

No trouble getting a signal up here!

AS: I just make time. An average day for me starts at 5am, with a one or two hour training run. I do about six marathons a year and that gives me a focus throughout the year, to keep up my running training. Then I come to work. After work I tend to do body strength gym work. I have some weights at home I use and some contraptions I tend to move around the place. I have some tyres I’ve roped together and I tie them to a harness and drag them up and down where I live much to the amusement of my neighbours and take them to the beach and drag them along with the dogs.

AB: What about the mental side of things, how do you train for the darkness and cold?

AS: You really do have to try and focus your mind. Spending a long time alone in a tent, miles from the people you love can be hard, but to achieve your dreams you must put yourself through these things and mental focus is an important part of it. The marathon running is very important for that, because the emotional experiences you take on when you go through a marathon are very up and down, the constant focus being on the finishing line and that’s why, when you’re climbing a big mountain, the focus is only on the next camp, it’s not on reaching the summit from the bottom, you just take a little step at a time.

AB: Will the fact that you’re a Doctor be a help or a hindrance? You have specialist knowledge, can that be frightening as well as helpful?

AS: Certainly on the expeditions I’ve been on there’s usually no doctor, I am the doctor. One of the problems is that if people become unwell I am obliged and feel ethically responsible to help them out. Being really keen on attaining a summit has to come second to ensuring people finish a climb safely. I’m not contracted to be the doctor on any of the climbs, but I do usually help out.

AB: What would it mean to you on a personal level to climb Everest?

AS: I met Chris Bonnington many years ago - my best friend’s father edited one of his books - I was only about ten at the time, and he had an enormous impact on me. I chatted away to him for ages! It’s been a dream of mine ever since then, a focus in my life for many years, it would be fantastic to do. The likelihood of getting to the top on the first go is extremely low, I’m aware of that. If you set yourself up for these big mountains, you almost set yourself up for failure, because the success rate is so low…but if I don’t get up this time, well, there’s always next year.Ìý

Alistair leaves North Yorkshire to begin his expedition on March 26th 2006.