Weatherwise Article about Whittaker Mountaineering Adviser

On the Job:Alex Van SteenAlex
Van Steen is a guide for Rainier Mountaineering, Inc., a mountaineering company based in Mount Rainier National Park, WA. Van Steen, who began climbing as a teenager, has more than 50 first ascents under his belt, and he’s made two attempts on Everest; the second time he reached 28,000 feet before turning back. Van Steen has summitted Mount Rainier more than 200 times, leading climbers past treacherous icefalls and crevasses on the mountain’s steep slopes.
What are the worst weather conditions that you’ve ever experienced on a mountain?

I think probably the worst weather I’ve experienced was when I was high up on a mountain trying to sleep in a tent. The tent was strapped down fairly well, but really strong winds made me concerned that the tent was going to tear apart. And so I put on—and this is a common strategy—all my clothing and my boots. Although I caught maybe a little bit of rest, I certainly didn’t sleep. But if the tent disintegrated around me, then at least I would have had my clothing on, like my suit, and my boots.

Is it possible for the tent to blow off a mountain with you in it?

You could be in it. We tie it down with three-millimeter cord, and then on some of these peaks where we’re very exposed, we have a net made of one-inch webbing, and we actually anchor the tent down underneath that net. It would really take a lot to tear a tent off the mountain, but on some places, like Mount McKinley and Mount Everest, they do get destroyed.

Do you find the extreme weather to be part of the appeal?

I enjoy the extreme weather very much. There’s a limit, obviously, if you’re in over your head or it’s ridiculously uncomfortable. That’s no fun for anybody, so you say, “let’s turn around.” But I enjoy being able to deal with that kind of weather and navigate in it and survive in it and play in it. I have a metabolism where I get warm very easily. I don’t get cold very easily, so I do really well in cold temperatures.
—MEGHAN JOYCE is the assistant editor for Weatherwise.