Ladies n' Genminiminminmin (er, min...) who do I have in my Good Listening To Zoom Hole & Clearing Today?!
Please welcome Mountaineering Legend and King of all things "Gnarly" in terms of adventures - Rolfe Oostra.
A man who I got in touch with because of 2 other connections - and because he had a picture (for real) on his Facebook Page of an Iguana and a Cat hanging out together (as ya do!) on his Sofa in the Pyrenees!
Wahey!
Enjoy - as he dials in a 'tad late' as he's in Kathmandu on the way back from the Climbing Permit Office!
I'm “all good to go”, excited and sitting here in my North Face Fleece!
More about Rolfe:
Rolfe Oostra was born in Holland but taken to Australia as a child, where his parents were determined to explore ‘every nook and cranny.’ Rolfe was rock-climbing at 14, climbing mountains in New Zealand at 18, leading his first expedition at 20. He had got the adventure bug. There was no going back.
His life was destined to be extraordinary. Now he has climbed Mount Everest not once but 4 times. Rolfe was there, ready to climb In 2015 when an earthquake killed over 10,000 people in Nepal. In 2021, Covid restrictions have stopped well over 50,000 people who typically trek to the base camp for Everest.
On the day of the interview, Rolfe was in Kathmandu which he said had a 1950s feel about it, with no tourists, perhaps as unpopulated as it was when Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing first reached the summit. At 4 a.m. next morning, Rolfe was taking a 19 year old Royal Marine recruit in 2022 to attempt the three peak 6000 metre challenge, with no rest days. It will be an awesome experience. Literally. And certainly not without risk.
Rolfe has acquired his own unique experience in real time - there is no other way. Today he is happy to share that experience on behalf of his company 360 degree Expeditions. He is determined to put his clients’ dreams and safety first and lead from the back of the line, summit or no summit. Rolfe now wants to help his clients to achieve things they once never thought possible and in the process to experience the ‘rawness and realness’ of adventure - whether it’s on a mountain, in a desert or on a river.
Rolfe’s own heroes are well-known people like Joe Simpson, who survived impossible odds after his partner cut the rope but also the virtual ‘unknowns’ like Lucinda, the fearless Argentinian mountaineer or the anonymous Swedish adventurer who took a sea kayak along the coast of Greenland with only ‘bears and icebergs’ for company.
Rolfe is not part of the social media circus, he is usually ‘out and about’. This was an opportunity for him to say his piece before a 4 a.m. start on the 3 peak challenge with a newcomer to take care of.
Rolfe really is the real deal. There is only one Rolfe Ooster. Hear him here.
Reg Starkey
Editor, Health Triangle Magazine
Marvellous!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
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Thanks for listening!