First Type 1 Diabetic on South Summit of Mount Everest

With supplemental oxygen, Will Cross, 37 became the first person with type 1 diabetes to reach the South Summit of Mt. Everest. That put him just shy of the top of the 29,029-foot mountain.

while this is not the top, is a great achievement for a type 1 diabetic. Will has called in and stated he only went as far as the South Summit of Everest and turned around because of high winds… For a type 1 diabetic, this is beyond what many can dream.

Will Cross, who became the first person with diabetes to reach the South Pole, attempted to reach the summit of Mt. Everest on May 17, 2004, but was forced to turn back because of extreme exhaustion and a shortage of oxygen. As a type 1 diabetes patient, Will carefully controlled his blood glucose levels using NovoLog® insulin and long-acting Novolin®, and followed a carefully determined diet of 3,500 calories per day. The climate of Mt. Everest is naturally extreme and at no time of the year does the temperature on the summit rise above freezing. Howling winds, little oxygen, avalanches and unpredictable weather also contribute to the severe conditions on the mountain.

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