'Inspires a sense of adventure': Sask. man conquers Mount Everest

Landry Warnez reached a new peak earlier this month, proudly holding the Saskatchewan flag after climbing to the top of Mount Everest.

"The climb itself is an iconic one. It has features you won't find on other mountains," he said.

Warnez made it to the summit of Mount Everest on May 12 at 5:30 a.m.

He said it’s a trek he had been conditioning for since he started getting into climbing.

"My parents had us going back and forth to the mountains, the Rockies, so growing up, I was in the mountains quite frequently," he said.

During a prior trip to Nepal, Warnez said that’s when he made the decision to climb the mountain.

Landry Warnez made it to the summit of Mount Everest on May 12, 2024. (Photo courtesy: Landry Warnez)

"I had trekked from Lukla, a small village in the mountains, all the way to Everest base camp and then you’re standing there looking up at the mountain and it inspires a sense of adventure and challenge and I knew at that point I wanted to do it," he said.

He left for Nepal on March 29 and the journey to the top began May 8.

Partial climbs had to be completed so Warnez could get used to the altitude. (Photo courtesy: Landry Warnez) He completed partial climbs of Mount Everest before the push to the summit.

"You can't go all the way up your first time. Your body has to get used to the altitude. So you do one rotation about halfway up the mountain to camp three and then you come down," he said.

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At times, he said the conditions were treacherous.

"From camp four to the summit, like I said the conditions were not great, it was blizzarding. You leave at 8 p.m., so it's pitch black for a majority of the climb," he said.

He said oxygen would deplete, making the climb even harder.

Landry Warnez climbed Mount Everest in May of 2024. (Photo courtesy: Landry Warnez)

"You are using supplemental oxygen that you carry with you, so you're not completely exposed to the low oxygen conditions, but it's still pretty tough," he said.

Warnez said he hopes to climb Mount Robson next, one of the most prominent summits in the Canadian Rockies.