This Heart Month, get to know more about Dr. Ellen Gallant, who specializes in Cardiovascular Disease at UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital.
Q: What is your hobby and how did you get started?
A: I spent 15 years of my life from 2002-2017 "obsessed" with climbing big mountains... not just any mountains, but Everest. All my climbing adventures had that ultimate goal somewhere in my mind, whether climbing in South America, western Europe, Antarctica, Alaska, or elsewhere in the Himalayas. It was always about training hard enough to be worthy of standing on the top of the world. In 2002, I read a book called "Into Thin Air" about the May 1996 Everest disaster in the early years of guided climbing where eight climbers died in a storm. Always having been adventurous, by 2002 I just wanted to see basecamp (17,500 feet) which is not a technical climb, just a vigorous hike at altitude. On the way down from basecamp, I met a group of American women trying to be the first all-female US team to summit; they were headed up to begin their ascent as I was heading back down valley to go home. After my return to the US, I flew to Seattle to climb Mt. Rainier, my first time on crampons and using an ice ax walking across crevasses; I was hooked! I spent the next 15 years training and climbing to make an attempt on Everest.
Q: What has been your most memorable climbing experience so far?
A: Summiting Everest on May 23, 2017 was one of the best moments in my life, particularly with the two prior seasons (2014 and 2015) where I was involved in disasters which shut down the climbing season each year. In 2015 I was at basecamp when the earthquake and avalanche hit; I actually thought I was going to die. The 2017 climbing season will remain one of my life's fondest memories, not so much because of the summit (though that was great), but because I was part of the rescue of an 18-year-old Sherpa guide named Sange who had been found near death on the mountain above Camp 4 at roughly 28,000 feet. Other than the Everest seasons, I loved climbing Denali in Alaska; I was part of an all-female rope team which is a very different experience from climbing with men. I remember our team was jumaring up a particularly steep section of the mountain; a group of men was heading down; I heard one of the men yell to his team "Hey, guys, it's all chicks!". Also, the midnight sun of an Alaskan summer, best appreciated at Camp 2 on Denali, is spectacularly beautiful!
Q: How/why is climbing such a good outlet for you, especially as a doctor?
A: The mental and physical commitment to climbing fits well with "doctorly" skills; climbing requires perfection. However, one big reason I love climbing is that it shuts off my brain. One has to completely concentrate on the moment at hand so you don't fall down a mountain. While this may seem stressful, it is actually a wonderful escape from all of the mental efforts and worries we as doctors have to face on a regular basis.
