FORT COLLINS – Jim Davidson attempted to climb Mount Everest in 2015, but that season ended abruptly with a tragic earthquake.  Now he’s returning for another chance to climb the tallest mountain in the world.

I caught up with Jim on Horsetooth Rock just before his departure.  We carried heavy packs as training – simulating what Jim would be doing on Everest.   “I’m lucky to have one shot at Everest not to mention two, so I wanted to make sure I left no stone unturned…I wanted to do everything I could to train harder, eat smarter, move faster, and trim down the pack weight…so that if I make it great, if not I’ll have no regrets, i’ll have done everything single thing I could,” said Davidson.

One thing you learn from climbing mountains is that the summit isn’t always the most important thing.  “Interesting enough I don’t visualize myself standing on the summit…I visualize myself on the ridge with the sun coming up…maybe 100 yards from the summit…because we don’t climb to conquer the mountain, no one conquers the mountain,” said Davidson.

Jim will acclimatize most of April and then be ready to summit in May when the jet stream moves off the summit.  On average, there are 11 days in May when the summit winds are light enough for climbers to summit.