Tracee Lee Metcalfe is a
mountaineer
Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...
, backcountry skier and internal medicine physician from
Vail, Colorado
Vail is a Home rule in the United States, home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the ...
. Metcalfe received her M.D. from
University of Colorado Denver
The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a Public university, public research university located in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. Established in 1912 as an extension of the University of C ...
's School of Medicine. She first started climbing
eight-thousanders
The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains recognized by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) as being more than in height above sea level, and sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise defi ...
in 2015.
Metcalfe is the first American woman to climb all 14 of the world's highest mountains over 8,000 meters.
Background
Metcalfe grew up in Los Angeles, and first began climbing as a teenager.
She began mountaineering with earnest after moving to Colorado in 1992, where she would go on to attend Colorado College.
She graduated from medical school at the
University of Colorado School of Medicine
The University of Colorado School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Colorado system. It is located at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, one of the four University of Colorado campuses, six mil ...
in 2003. She completed her medical residency in
internal medicine
Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...
in Seattle, and then moved back to Colorado to work at
Vail Health Hospital
Vail Health Hospital is a regional hospital in Vail, Colorado, in Eagle County. Originally established as a small clinic in 1965, the hospital now has 56 beds. The hospital is a Level III trauma center.
History
Vail Health Hospital began as V ...
.
In 2012, Metcalfe climbed
Denali
Denali (), federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring . On p. 20 of Helm ...
while volunteering with the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
as a climbing ranger and expedition doctor. The experience encouraged her to look into working as a doctor for climbing expeditions. She would spend two years working with the National Park Service as a climbing ranger. The next year, Metcalfe began working with
Russell Brice's
Himalayan Experience as an expedition medic. She has continued to spend each climbing season working as a high-altitude expedition doctor, and established best practices in the field for other medics.
High-altitude climbing
2016
On May 13, 2016, Metcalfe summitted
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...
. To prepare for Everest, Metcalfe summited every 14,000 foot peak in Colorado. In September, she attempted
Manaslu
Manaslu (; , also known as Kutang) is the List of highest mountains#List, eighth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in west-central Nepal. Manaslu means "mountain of the ...
with a team led by Brice and Himalayan Experience. The expedition reached the fore-summit of the peak at 8,125m, as fixed ropes were not affixed higher on the mountain.
2017
As part of the International Mountain Guides Ama Dablam Expedition, Metcalfe summited 6,814m
Ama Dablam
Ama Dablam is a mountain in the Eastern Himalayas range of Koshi Province, Nepal. The main peak is , the lower western peak is . Ama Dablam means "mother's necklace"; the long ridges on each side like the arms of a mother (''ama'') protecting he ...
on November 9, 2017.
In 2017, she appeared as herself in ''Everest Rescue'', a documentary miniseries filmed at Mount Everest while she was serving as expedition doctor for Brice's Himalayan Experience.
2018
Metcalfe joined the Japanese Active Mountain Cho Oyu Expedition to climb
Cho Oyu
Cho Oyu ( Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means " Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the '' Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur Him ...
. She summited the mountain on September 26, 2018.
2019
Metcalfe summited
Makalu
Makalu (; ) is the fifth-highest mountain on Earth, with a summit at an elevation of AMSL. It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, on the China–Nepal border. One of the eight-thousanders, Makalu is an isolat ...
as part of the Expedition Base Makalu Expedition on May 15, 2019. The expedition took 26 days and left base camp via helicopter on May 20th at the conclusion of the expedition.
2020
Metcalfe was training to climb
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak River and Jongsang La, and ...
when she contracted COVID-19 in Montana. During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, her work as an internal medicine doctor took precedence over climbing.
2021
In January, Metcalfe was featured in an exhibition from the Colorado Snowsports Museum Hall of Fame, "Vail Women Climb Everest" series.
On April 16, Metcalfe summited
Annapurna
Annapurna (; ) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the 10th highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficulty and danger involved in its as ...
as part of an expedition led by Expedition Base. She described the climb as the hardest she had done to that point, harder than her previous climbs on Everest,
Makalu
Makalu (; ) is the fifth-highest mountain on Earth, with a summit at an elevation of AMSL. It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, on the China–Nepal border. One of the eight-thousanders, Makalu is an isolat ...
,
Cho Oyu
Cho Oyu ( Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means " Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the '' Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur Him ...
and
Ama Dablam
Ama Dablam is a mountain in the Eastern Himalayas range of Koshi Province, Nepal. The main peak is , the lower western peak is . Ama Dablam means "mother's necklace"; the long ridges on each side like the arms of a mother (''ama'') protecting he ...
.
After climbing Annapurna, Metcalfe flew to Dhaulagiri, for an attempt on the world's seventh-highest peak with the Seven Summits Treks International Dhaulagiri Expedition.
The expedition was eventually abandoned due to a COVID-19 outbreak amongst the climbing team.
2022
In 2022, Metcalfe summited
Dhaulagiri
Dhaulagiri, located in Nepal, is the seventh highest mountain in the world at above sea level, and the highest mountain within the borders of a single country. It was first climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian-Nepali expedition.
Annapur ...
on April 9 and
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak River and Jongsang La, and ...
on May 7 with expedition teams led by Imagine Nepal.
2023
In 2023, Metcalfe was on
Shishapangma
Shishapangma, or Shishasbangma or Xixiabangma ( zh, s=希夏邦马, p=Xī xià bāng mǎ), is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. The lowest 8,000 metre peak, it is located entirely within Tibet.
Name
Geologist Toni H ...
working as an expedition doctor when American climbers
Gina Rzucidlo and
Anna Gutu were challenging one another to be the first American woman to summit all 14 eight-thousanders. The pair would be killed in an
avalanche
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...
as they attempted their push to the summit. She was a personal friend of Rzucidlo, but was frustrated by how the competition between climbers changed the dynamics on the mountain. Due to unstable conditions on the mountain, she would not attempt the summit of Shishapangma that year, turning back after the first avalanche hit.
On July 2, 2023, Metcalfe summited
Nanga Parbat
Nanga Parbat () (; ), known locally as Diamer (), is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth and its summit is at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-a ...
as part of a 33-member international expedition. Metcalfe would then join a team from Imagine Nepal to climb
K2. Her first attempt at summiting K2 was unsuccessful, and she turned back after a group of climbers at
the Bottleneck made her attempt too risky. Her sherpa team let her head back to camp but encouraged her to stay on the mountain. After waiting for several days, she successfully summitted on July 29th at 6:06am.
On September 21, 2023, Metcalfe successfully summited
Manaslu
Manaslu (; , also known as Kutang) is the List of highest mountains#List, eighth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in west-central Nepal. Manaslu means "mountain of the ...
at 5:53 in the morning.
2024
In 2024, Metcalfe climbed
Lhotse
Lhotse ( ; ; ) is the List of highest mountains#List, fourth-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. At an elevation of above sea level, the main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of Chin ...
,
Gasherbrum I
Gasherbrum I, originally surveyed as K5, and also known as Hidden Peak, is the 11th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is located between Shigar District in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan and Tashkurgan in the Xi ...
,
Gasherbrum II
Gasherbrum II (; ; ); surveyed as K4, is the 13th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is the third-highest peak of the Gasherbrum massif, and is located in the Karakoram, on the border between Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan and ...
Broad Peak
Broad Peak (; ) is one of the eight-thousanders, and is located in the Karakoram range spanning Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan and Xinjiang, China. It is the 12th highest mountain in the world with elevation above sea level. The first ascent of t ...
and
Shishapangma
Shishapangma, or Shishasbangma or Xixiabangma ( zh, s=希夏邦马, p=Xī xià bāng mǎ), is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. The lowest 8,000 metre peak, it is located entirely within Tibet.
Name
Geologist Toni H ...
.
She is now the first American woman to have climbed all 14 eight-thousanders.
See also
*
Eight thousanders
*
Ellen Miller (mountaineer), Pioneering female alpinist and one of Metcalfe's coaches
References
External links
*
*
Practical Tips for Working as an Expedition Doctor on High-Altitude Expeditions' by Anne Brants and Tracee Metcalfe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalfe, Tracee
Living people
Colorado College alumni
University of Colorado Denver alumni
Physicians from Colorado
21st-century American women physicians
21st-century American physicians
American female mountain climbers
American summiters of Mount Everest
Summiters of K2
Summiters of Broad Peak
21st-century American sportswomen
Date of birth missing (living people)
Summiters of all 14 eight-thousanders