Summitting with the Q

Michael O’Donnell has pushed beyond the limits again and again in his 35 years of mountain climbing and guiding, culminating in 2001 with his guiding the first ascent of Mt. Everest by a blind man. In 2004, Michael experimented with wearing a Q-Link on a climb. He was guiding a group of climbers with varied levels of experience on Cho Oyo, an 8,200-meter (26,905 foot) peak on the Tibetan frontier. While wearing the Q-Link, he said:

“I dealt with challenges with a sense of calm, patience and energy. My clearer state of mind allowed me stay on top of all the organizational issues of the expedition. Additionally, I didn’t get sick once after I started wearing the Q-Link. During our summit push, one of our Sherpas had to go down with a sick team member. As a result, the remaining members and guides were forced to carry heavier than normal loads from Camp 2 (23,288 feet) to Camp 3 (24,272) feet. About 500 feet above Camp 2, I hit the wall. I had been feeling fine and healthy up to that point. But now I was really battling. Every step was a nightmare, and I was getting very tired. As a result, I hyper-extended my left knee. It took everything I had to make it to Camp 3. I was totally spent and injured, with only about 8 hours to recover. I knew from experience I couldn’t recover that quickly so I informed my teammates that they would have to go on to the summit without me. I woke up at 3 a.m. and felt totally fine!!! I recovered so well that I was able to join the summit push and felt 100 % recovered with no hint of a leg injury. I literally ran to summit.”

How does he think the Q-Link helps in such extreme situations?

“As a climber, I believe that the Q-Link helps me out in myriad ways, such as being able to gain my energetic equilibrium back after difficult moments. Physically, climbing is a demanding activity. By its nature it asks you to deal with a constant stream of adversities and drains on your energy and resources. Q-Link gives me a source of mental focus, energy, and stamina. It provides me with a foundation of energy that is balanced and calm. There is a definite parallel between Q-Link and the use of oxygen on high altitude peaks. Q-Link gives you a better chance of recovering your energy fully from all the stresses of a large expedition.”

Next on his climbing itinerary is 5,200 feet of vertical and overhanging rock, covered in ice and snow: the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland. It is notorious as one of the most dangerous mixed climbs in the world, earning it the nickname “Mordwand” or “murder wall.” To add a bit of extra challenge, Michael will be climbing with Erik Weihenmayer, his blind climbing partner from Everest. “This climb will be far more difficult than Everest and demonstrate to the world that there really are no barriers to what we can achieve when we focus all of our energy on what we want to do. I will have a Q-Link with me every step of the way to help me sustain the energy and focus that I will need.”