JUDY WOODRUFF: A group of mountaineers is aiming to make history and inspire others
in a field not known for its diversity.
Amna Nawaz reports.
AMNA NAWAZ: Most days for Dom Mullins start like this, runs through the woods, workouts
in his makeshift gym, and post-exercise plunges into a freezing cold pond.
It's a grueling regimen, all to prepare to climb a mountain synonymous with the ultimate
challenge, Mount Everest.
DOM MULLINS, Full Circle Everest: To climb a mountain like Everest, you need to have
a lot of endurance. So that's what I'm doing. I'm building my endurance over time.
AMNA NAWAZ: Mullins, who has been climbing for more than a decade, is part of a group
that aims to become the first all-Black team to summit the world's highest mountain.
Called Full Circle Everest, the team of 10 experienced mountaineers and climbers from
the United States and Kenya is set to climb Everest next spring.
NARRATOR: Two unassuming men have climbed the 29,000-foot monarch of the Himalayas.
AMNA NAWAZ: Since Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary first climbed Everest in 1953, around
6,000 have followed in their footsteps. But the team says only 10 of those have been Black.
As you were making your way up through the years, did you see or know a lot of other
Black climbers?
DOM MULLINS: Actually, I knew none.
(LAUGHTER)
AMNA NAWAZ: None?
DOM MULLINS: I knew none.
So, the -- in fact, the only Black climbers that have ever been within the mountains are
all on the Full Circle Everest mountaineering team, yes.
Lots of people would remark when they would see me in the mountains, like, wow, I have
never seen a Black person climbing before. I have never seen a Black person in the mountains.
AMNA NAWAZ: People would say that to you.
DOM MULLINS: Oh, absolutely.
AMNA NAWAZ: The numbers reflect Mullins' experience. Black people make up just nine percent of
all those who participate in outdoor recreation in the U.S., and just 1 percent of the climbing
community.
Mullins, an Iraq War veteran, was introduced to climbing through his work in veterans organizations.
He says it helped fill a void left by the military.
DOM MULLINS: It was a part of my identity. To be able to meet an obstacle, to be able
to discipline myself enough to overcome it, and then achieve that thing gave me pride
in myself. And so climbing became this other another vehicle in my life for that same process.
AMNA NAWAZ: When you think back to that very first climb you did, not knowing what was
ahead, not knowing what it would take, do you think you would have ever known back then
that you would be attempting to summit Everest these years later?
(LAUGHTER)
DOM MULLINS: Absolutely not.
(LAUGHTER)
DOM MULLINS: Absolutely not.
AMNA NAWAZ: By attempting to scale Mount Everest, he hopes to inspire others to connect with
the outdoors and highlight the access barriers Black communities often face.
DOM MULLINS: There was absolutely no one that I knew in my community that even hiked or
camped outside.
If you don't have people who are -- who live within proximity to you that you can learn
certain things from, then you don't learn those things.
AMNA NAWAZ: The cost too is a hurdle. Full Circle Everest has so far raised more than
half-a-million dollars from sponsors and fund-raising to make their summit attempt possible.
Team lead Philip Henderson:
PHILIP HENDERSON, Full Circle Everest: Everest expeditions don't happen unless you have sponsorship
or you're pretty wealthy, you have made a lot of money. That's the only way it happens.
So, for most people, especially in those communities that are underrepresented in the outdoor community,
for most people, Everest is untouchable.
AMNA NAWAZ: Conditions on Everest have been under scrutiny in recent years, record numbers
of climbers raising concerns of overcrowding, and 11 climbers dying over a two-week period
in 2019.
A recent study actually found, despite crowds, the rate of deaths for Everest climbers has
slightly decreased over the last two decades. Despite safety worries, Henderson, who attempted
to summit Everest in 2012, is confident.
PHILIP HENDERSON: I know that people die on Everest every year. They always have. We look
at managing the risk the best we can, knowing that there are a lot of things that are out
of your control. But the things that are within our control is what really makes a difference.
AMNA NAWAZ: Mullins too believes all the preparation will pay off in Nepal.
DOM MULLINS: I have had so many hurdles as you do when you're training for something
like this. But it's meeting those hurdles and overcoming them that really allows you
a certain belief in your ability for the main event.
AMNA NAWAZ: Reaching for new heights and forging a new path for others to follow.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Amna Nawaz.