Two Frederick residents among first deaf climbers to summit Mount Everest

Jul. 24—Two long-time Frederick residents are among the first deaf climbers to summit Mount Everest.

Guinness World Records says the first deaf person to summit Everest was Japanese alpine skier and orienteer Satoshi Tamura in 2016.

Scott Lehmann, 34, and Shayna Unger, 31, said they are the first deaf American and the first deaf woman to reach the world's highest peak at Mount Everest.

The reached the peak of Mount Everest in the early morning hours of May 22. Just 26 hours later, they reached the summit of Lhotse, the world's fourth highest mountain. They are now believed to be the third and fourth deaf people to summit Mount Everest.

The second deaf person to summit the mountain was Malaysian national Muhammad Hawari Hashim, who Lehmann and Unger met on their way up, CNN reported. Hashim reached the peak a few days before the couple, then went missing the next day. The search was suspended on June 6.

Lehmann and Unger, both graduates of the Maryland School for the Deaf, are aiming to be the first known deaf individuals to climb the world's seven summits, the highest mountain on each continent, with their project, "Seeing Beyond: Seven Summits."

So far, the pair have climbed four out of the seven peaks: Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Aconcagua in South America, Denali in North America and, most recently, Mount Everest in Asia.

The three remaining peaks for the couple to climb are: Mount Elbrus in Europe, Puncak Jaya in Oceania and Vinson Massif in Antarctica.

But the duo's mission is about more than just being the first deaf people to summit these mountains. They also want to increase Deaf and disabled representation in outdoor activities, improve accessibility to information in these spaces, and provide education to both the hearing and Deaf communities about the outdoors and their experiences.

"We want to become the first deaf people to touch all seven peaks ... and then also educate our community in the outdoors and different skills they could learn," Unger said in an interview with the couple facilitated by an ASL interpreter.

The biggest challenge on Everest for the profoundly deaf pair who don't use spoken language was communication, Lehmann said.

About two months before their climb, they got together with their two Sherpas, who Lehmann said were doubtful about how they would complete the trip because they didn't know sign language and had never climbed with deaf people before.

After some time together, the group developed a mode of communication using a combination of American Sign Language, gestures and signals, Unger said.

Lehmann said they had it "dialed down" and could communicate efficiently as people around them looked on, confused as to how they were doing it.

Their Everest journey also came with additional challenges, such as finding funding and sponsorship, waiting two weeks for the right weather window to summit the mountain, high altitudes, and more.

Their accomplishments come with two feelings, Lehmann said. A great feeling after reaching another summit and getting closer to the ultimate goal, but also the difficulty that comes with being the first to embark on such a journey.

"It hasn't been an easy journey because there's no footsteps for us to follow ... so we're kind of trailing and are creating new paths," he said.

Since they've been doing the project, the pair has also been giving presentations in Deaf schools across the country about their journeys, sharing their experiences, showing their gear and more.

"We just notice like how much the kids are so excited and inspired, but they're also like, you know, awestruck because they've never seen what we're doing in Deaf spaces," Unger said.

Lehmann added that they've noticed that the kids are also realizing that they can chase their dreams, whatever they may be, and do anything that hearing people can do, even if they haven't seen it before.

On their journey to educate and connect with the community, the climbing duo uses social media by posting stories, photos and videos and answering questions from people about their climbing adventures.

Lehmann said the two of them grew up reading books about the outdoors and climbing, but the people in them felt far away, like fictional characters, and they didn't see those people in themselves.

When they started the project, he said, they wanted to bring people in to connect with them and have a conversation in their language.

"They had never seen anything in ASL with regards to Everest and these big mountains," Unger said. "So, sometimes it's not about the summit itself and getting to the top, but it's about everything, you know, that surrounds it — the whole entire journey and connecting it back to our community, which is so important."

In addition to their Deaf audience, they are also educating the hearing community, Unger said. She said hearing people have various questions about how deaf people navigate those spaces, and their work helps to explain their experiences and how they adapt.

"We've noticed that hearing people are starting to be a little bit more accommodating and to work with us on a mountain and to figure out what works best, instead of saying, 'No, we're not going to take you up because you're too much of a risk,'" Unger said.

Lehmann's climbing career began after he graduated from Gallaudet University in 2012 and attempted to summit Mount Rainier in Washington with his friends. After failing to reach the top due to a lack of experience and appropriate gear, he set out to teach himself mountaineering skills.

With no mountaineering classes offered in ASL, Lehmann said he spent a long time learning from videos online, reading various sources and other unconventional methods.

Unger later joined Lehmann as his climbing partner, and in 2015, the couple scaled their first peak together, Mount Kilimanjaro. They both realized there was an art in teaching the different technicalities of climbing in sign language.

After returning from the arduous Everest journey, the couple is currently on a break in France, where they still haven't fully stopped climbing as they explore the Alps.

On Aug. 9, the duo will go to Annapolis to meet Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who will honor their accomplishments.

Lehmann said the state and especially Frederick, which is home to a large Deaf community, have been a huge support for their project.

Lehmann and Unger are excited to tour the United States in the fall, giving presentations, visiting schools and connecting with the community.

The pair is now going back to the drawing board to choose which peak to take on next/ They will make an announcement on their social media accounts when they decide.