Meters or Feet? And one truly badass mountaineer named Tracee Metcalfe…

Dr. Tracee Metcalfe navigating the Mushroom Ridge on Ama Dablam.

Americans fought a war to obtain the freedom necessary to establish and maintain our own system of weights and measures. Yet in the international sport of mountaineering, peaks are most often measured in meters.

For example, the tallest mountains in the world are the ones clocking in at more than 8,000 meters. There are fourteen of these monsters—all of them located in the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges (in Asia), and all with summits looming above the death zone, which begins at 26,000 feet. Some of those fourteen are famous and have names you know: Everest and K2. But, unless you are a mountaineer or geography buff, you may not have heard of most of the other 8,000-meter giants, like Shishapangma and Kangchenjunga.

Summitting all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks is the ultimate accomplishment in mountain climbing. In 1986, Reinhold Messner, who is arguably the greatest mountaineer of all time, became the first to achieve this remarkable feat—and he did so without supplemental oxygen.

The first American woman (and only the third American ever) to summit all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks is a true badass named Dr. Tracee Metcalfe. (Give her a follow on Instagram!) She is a physician who originally hails from Southern California and now lives in Colorado. She completed her fourteenth 8,000-meter peak in October 2024.

Outside Magazine profiled Dr. Metcalfe’s ceiling-shattering attainment of our sport’s apex, yet she is unbelievably modest: 

“Being the first doesn’t mean a whole lot to me,” she said. Rather, Metcalfe insisted that the significance was deeply personal—she endured a decade of climbing, which required dizzying logistics, physical fitness, plenty of cash, and personal grit.

Metcalfe said she learned plenty of lessons during her 8,000-meter quest, but the biggest takeaway was the importance of being motivated by internal, and not external, forces.

Tracee’s father coincidentally happens to be a friend of mine—unrelated to mountaineering. Through his introduction, I was able to correspond with and seek advice from Tracee for my Everest climb. She was instrumental in helping me secure Pasang Dawa Sherpa (PaDawa) as my private guide with CTSS. I have been impressed with Tracee from afar for many years—still haven’t met her!—but I remain in her debt for endorsing PaDawa, whom she knows from her extended time in the Himalaya.

Back to the weights and measures point: because the “8,000-meter” description is a term of art in mountaineering, I will use that format. But, for anything that isn’t an 8,000-meter mountain—at least where conversion to feet is practicable, such as on the trek and climb maps we produced as visual depictions—I will keep to the American system of weights and measures.

And, again, huge congratulations to Dr. Tracee Metcalfe for serving as a powerful example of a champion. Additionally, she inspires and empowers young girls all over the world to pursue mountaineering. Hats off, and my eternal gratitude that she took the time to generously assist this amateur hobby climber in working with the right Sherpa to lead me where I’m going.