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Tracee Metcalfe

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Tracee Lee Metcalfe is a high-altitude alpinist, backcountry skier and internal medicine physician from Vail, Colorado. Metcalfe received her M.D. from University of Colorado Denver's School of Medicine.[1][2] She first started climbing eight-thousanders in 2015.[3] Metcalfe is the first American woman to climb all 14 of the world's highest mountains over 8,000 meters.[4]

Background

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Metcalfe grew up in Los Angeles,[5] and first began climbing as a teenager.[3] She began mountaineering with earnest after moving to Colorado in 1992, where she would go on to attend Colorado College.[6][7] She graduated from medical school at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 2003.[8] She completed her medical residency in internal medicine in Seattle, and then moved back to Colorado to work at Vail Health Hospital.[6]

In 2012, Metcalfe climbed Denali while volunteering with the National Park Service as a climbing ranger and expedition doctor. The experience encouraged her to look into working as a doctor for climbing expeditions. She would spend two years working with the National Park Service as a climbing ranger. The next year, Metcalfe began working with Russell Brice's Himalayan Experience as an expedition medic.[9][10] She has continued to spend each climbing season working as a high-altitude expedition doctor, and established best practices in the field for other medics.[11]

High-altitude climbing

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2016

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On May 13, 2016, Metcalfe summitted Mount Everest.[12][13] To prepare for Everest, Metcalfe summited every 14,000 foot peak in Colorado.[14][15] In September, she attempted Manaslu with a team led by Brice and Himalayan Experience. The expedition reached the fore-summit of the peak at 8,125m, as fixed ropes were not affixed higher on the mountain.[16]

2017

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As part of the International Mountain Guides Ama Dablam Expedition, Metcalfe summited 6,814m Ama Dablam on November 9, 2017.[16] In 2017, she appeared as herself in Everest Rescue, a documentary miniseries filmed at Mount Everest while she was serving as expedition doctor for Brice's Himalayan Experience.[17]

2018

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Metcalfe joined the Japanese Active Mountain Cho Oyu Expedition to climb Cho Oyu. She summited the mountain on September 26, 2018.[16][18]

2019

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Metcalfe summited Makalu as part of the Expedition Base Makalu Expedition on May 15, 2019. The expedition took 26 days and left base camp via helicopter on May 20th at the conclusion of the expedition.[16]

2020

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Metcalfe was training to climb Kangchenjunga when she contracted COVID-19 in Montana.[19] During the COVID-19 pandemic, her work as an internal medicine doctor took precedence over climbing.[20]

2021

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In January, Metcalfe was featured in an exhibition from the Colorado Snowsports Museum Hall of Fame, "Vail Women Climb Everest" series.[6]

On April 16, Metcalfe summited Annapurna as part of an expedition led by Expedition Base. She described the climb as the hardest she had done to that point, harder than her previous climbs on Everest, Makalu, Cho Oyu and Ama Dablam.[21] After climbing Annapurna, Metcalfe flew to Dhaulagiri, for an attempt on the world's seventh-highest peak with the Seven Summits Treks International Dhaulagiri Expedition.[21] The expedition was eventually abandoned due to a COVID-19 outbreak amongst the climbing team.[16]

2022

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In 2022, Metcalfe summited Dhaulagiri on April 9[22] and Kangchenjunga on May 7 with expedition teams led by Imagine Nepal.[23]

2023

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In 2023, Metcalfe was on Shishapangma working as an expedition doctor when American climbers Gina Rzucidlo and Anna Gutu were challenging one another to be the first American woman to summit all 14 eight-thousanders. The pair would be killed in an avalanche as they attempted their push to the summit.[24] She was a personal friend of Rzucidlo,[25] but was frustrated by how the competition between climbers changed the dynamics on the mountain.[26][27] Due to unstable conditions on the mountain, she would not attempt the summit of Shishapangma that year, turning back after the first avalanche hit.[28]

On July 2, 2023, Metcalfe summited Nanga Parbat as part of a 33-member international expedition.[29] Metcalfe would then join a team from Imagine Nepal to climb K2.[30] Her first attempt at summiting K2 was unsuccessful, and she turned back after a group of climbers at the Bottleneck made her attempt too risky. Her sherpa team let her head back to camp but encouraged her to stay on the mountain. After waiting for several days, she successfully summitted on July 29th at 6:06am.[31]

On September 21, 2023, Metcalfe successfully summited Manaslu at 5:53 in the morning.[16]

2024

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In 2024, Metcalfe climbed Lhotse, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II[32] Broad Peak and [33][34] Shishapangma.[4] She is now the first American woman to have climbed all 14 eight-thousanders.[4][35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tracee L. Metcalfe, MD - Internist in Vail, CO". MD.com. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  2. ^ "Dr. Tracee L. Metcalfe MD". US News and World Report Doctors. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Benavides, Angela (2024-09-21). "Interview: Tracee Metcalfe On Shisha Pangma » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  4. ^ a b c Benavides, Angela (2024-10-07). "Tracee Metcalfe Becomes First U.S. Woman to Climb the World's Highest Peaks » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  5. ^ Leonhart, Ross (June 19, 2016). "'On the edge' — Vail Valley Medical Center doctor summits Mount Everest". Vail Daily. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Staff, RealVail (2021-01-21). "Colorado Snowsports Museum's Through the Lens series focuses on Vail Valley women who climbed Everest". Real Vail. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  7. ^ "My Story – Tracee Metcalfe". Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  8. ^ Weiss, Claire (2017-03-22). "How To Train Yourself To Step On The Top Of The World while living in Colorado". SnowBrains. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  9. ^ Waraniak, Jeff (2018-04-27). "Tracee Metcalfe, Vail Doctor and Everest Summitter, Talks Mountain Medicine". 5280. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  10. ^ Dickinson, Matt (2016-08-06). "On Everest: meet the people scaling the world's highest peak". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  11. ^ Brants, Anne; Metcalfe, Tracee (September 2017). "Practical Tips for Working as an Expedition Doctor on High-Altitude Expeditions". High Altitude Medicine & Biology. 18 (3): 193–198. doi:10.1089/ham.2016.0158. ISSN 1557-8682. PMID 28604118.
  12. ^ Leonhart, Ross (2016-06-19). "'On the edge' — Vail Valley Medical Center doctor summits Mount Everest". www.vaildaily.com. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  13. ^ Hickey, Chuck (May 24, 2016). "Coloradans summit Mount Everest; one shows Broncos pride". Fox 31 KDVR. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  14. ^ Fuller, Kim (2018-01-03). "Local Hero: Tracee Metcalfe Elevation Outdoors Magazine". Elevation Outdoors Magazine. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  15. ^ Inc, 5280 Publishing (2016-12-12). "From The Rockies To Mt. Everest". 5280. Retrieved 2024-09-23. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ a b c d e f "Himalayan Database Online". The Himalayan Database. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  17. ^ Everest Rescue (Reality-TV), Shaun Dooley, Jason Laing, Ryan Skorecki, 2017-01-08, retrieved 2024-09-23{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  18. ^ "Autumn 2018 Himalayan Climbing: Summits, Missing Climber, Skiing Lhotse | The Blog on alanarnette.com". www.alanarnette.com. 2018-09-30. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  19. ^ "Quarantine Q&A - Big Mountain Doc and Skier Dr. Tracee Metcalfe - The Backcountry Ski Touring Blog". - The Backcountry Ski Touring Blog. 2020-05-06. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  20. ^ "Quarantine Q&A - Big Mountain Doc and Skier Dr. Tracee Metcalfe - The Backcountry Ski Touring Blog". - The Backcountry Ski Touring Blog. 2020-05-06. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  21. ^ a b "Annapurna 2021: Interview with Tracee Metcalfe | The Blog on alanarnette.com". www.alanarnette.com. 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  22. ^ Benavides, Angela (2022-04-09). "First Summits on Dhaulagiri -- At Least 22 on Top » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  23. ^ Benavides, Angela (2022-05-07). "More Summits on Kangchenjunga, Nuptse Next? » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  24. ^ Liu, Gloria (2024-06-27). "Did a Dangerous New Mountaineering Trend Cause Four Deaths on Shishapangma?". Outside Online. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  25. ^ Hellen, Nicholas (2023-10-14). "How conquering the 14 summits became an obsession". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  26. ^ Benavides, Angela (2023-10-10). "What Happened on Shishapangma: The Climbers Speak Out » Explorersweb". Explorersweb. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  27. ^ Dreier, Frederick (2023-10-11). "The Death Toll on Shishapangma Has Risen to Four". Outside Online. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  28. ^ ""A rekordok semmit sem érnek, ha belehalunk" – toxikussá vált verseny vezetett a hegymászók tragédiájához". 24.hu (in Hungarian). 2023-10-11. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  29. ^ thehighasia (2023-07-02). "Samina, 33 others summit 'killer mountain' |". Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  30. ^ "First International Team from Imagine Nepal Reach the Everest Summit". Imagine Nepal. May 14, 2023.
  31. ^ Nagri, Jamil (2023-07-29). "Nepalese climber breaks own record with sixth K2 summit". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  32. ^ "2024年迦舒布鲁姆2峰登山队成功登顶海拔8035米！_达瓦_天气_山峰". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  33. ^ "Broad Peak 2024 Summit". Imagine Nepal. August 8, 2024.
  34. ^ "Dr Tracee Lee Metcalfe, a climber from the United States, completes 12 of the 14 highest peaks with G1 Expedition". Imagine Nepal. August 8, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  35. ^ "Imagine Nepal: 11 climbers reach the true summit, where five of them complete all 14 highest peaks, and Mingma G sets an oxygen-free record". imagine-nepal.com. 2024-10-04. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
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