Illinois Climber, 61, Sets Sights On Breaking Mt. Everest World Record

AURORA, IL — Climbing Mt. Everest is one of the most impressive and adrenaline-rush-inducing feats for humans, and an Aurora native not only plans to add it to his list of achievements — he also intends to break a world record in the process.

At 61, Brian O'Malley hopes to be among the top 10 oldest people to summit Earth's highest peak. And if he succeeds, he'll be another local who holds an Everest record, joining Naperville's Lucy Westlake, who at age 18 in 2022 became the youngest American to reach the peak.

"I'm going to summit, 100 percent, that is my goal," he told Patch in a phone call. "No bones about it. ... When I do summit, it's an inspiration to a lot of our people ... not to doubt themselves, go for the challenges. Don't be afraid."

Born and raised in Aurora, O'Malley isn't an experienced mountaineer but said he's been training his whole life. A graduate of Marmion Academy, he went on to serve in the U.S. Navy before settling down with his wife in Virginia. In the 40 years since he has been out of service, he has suffered from back problems until a year and a half ago, when he had a life-changing surgery.

"I've never felt better in my life," O'Malley said. "I said, 'Well, I'm not getting any younger.' I'd like to do something that would challenge myself and, in the meantime, inspire [others]."

Asked what intrigues him about Everest: "Early on in my life, I think I read a book about Everest, and I was intrigued about it being the tallest point on the face of the Earth. While I had that back surgery and I was recovering, at nighttime, I would watch these Everest videos ... and really, the bug just hit me. ... That's the 'Why ... Everest' thing."

The "why" also extends to raising awareness and funds for Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a charity that helps provide mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families. O'Malley said it's one of his family's favorite charities due to their immediate connection to veterans and first responders.

So far, O'Malley's fundraising has collected upwards of $16,000, according to his campaign website.

"There are so many examples of what T2T actually does for our national heroes who protect us domestically and internationally that I hope to bring awareness to throughout my expedition to summit [Mt.] Everest," O'Malley wrote in an email to Patch. "I wholeheartedly want to bring continued awareness and financial support to this incredibly helpful organization."

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O'Malley will meet his climbing team at Everest Base Camp on April 18, and from there, it'll be an uphill journey.

"The team leader promised me that I will get significant enough technical training, climbing training, that I need to be able to do the technical aspects of the climb," he said on the phone. "He's quite confident, and I'm quite confident too."

If all goes according to plan, O'Malley said, the team of climbers hopes to summit around Memorial Day, which falls on Monday, May 26.

Throughout the expedition, the climbers' team leader will record and submit details to the authorities in Nepal, O'Malley said. Currently, the oldest person to reach the peak of Mt. Everest is Yuichiro Miura, who was 80 years old when he achieved the feat. The 10th oldest is then-60-year-old Lev Sarkisov, putting O'Malley within the range.

"I think just being there on the mountain is going to be successful, but if I'm ultimately able to summit Mt. Everest, it's going to be an incredible feat," O'Malley said.