Green firefighter takes adventurous spirit to world's highest peak, Mount Everest

Green Fire Battalion Chief Josh Compton likes to keep busy.

Sometimes it takes him out of state as a member of Ohio Task Force 1 to some of the worst disasters in the U.S.

Places like Surfside, Florida, where a condo collapsed in June 2021, or Hurricane Harvey in Texas in 2017. Or Hurricane Ian in Florida in October 2022 or Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey in 2012.

That's all in the call of duty.

Mount Everest might not seem like a good spot for a bit of vacation R&R, but Compton recently traveled there with a local friend, ascending to 17,598 feet at the base camp and making the climb back down.

Compton said Tuesday he made the excursion with a local friend.

"My wife and daughter said, 'You can go ahead and go. We're not going to go on that trip,'" he said.

Last year, Compton took his family to Ecuador, and for spring break, they traveled to Portugal.

"I want to go and see as much as I can," he said.

Mount Everest 'an amazing place'

The Green firefighter said there were eight members of his party, six from the U.S. including a local friend, and two from outside the U.S. He returned home Saturday.

Once they flew in, the work — the vacation — began in earnest.

"It was a seven-day hike with a day of acclimation," he said.

Temperatures fluctuated wildly, from the 20s to shirtsleeve weather in the day.

Compton said he started making plans and booking the adventure about a year ago.

"It's an amazing place," he said. "It's not easy to get to or get out of. … The logistics to run that are pretty impressive."

More than 3 miles high on Everest

The main guide on the tour was a native who had summited Everest four times, Compton said. The mountain is located between Nepal and Tibet.

Compton said he didn't wear a mask, but at 12,000 feet the air becomes thin enough that it can become difficult to breathe. Peru's La Rinconada is credited as the world's highest major city with 30,000 residents at 16,728 feet. Denver, by comparison, is at 5,280 feet.

The camp is more than three miles up the side of Mount. Everest.

In a Facebook post, his excursion is detailed: four plane rides and a seven-day hike to get there, a helicopter and multiple plane rides to return home.

He takes his excursions in stride — "I just went to base camp" — but his colleagues have a slightly different view.

"They think I'm crazy sometimes for some of the things I do," he said.

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Trip to Mount Everest base camp 'amazing' says Green firefighter