[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 85 (Monday, May 22, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S7118]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 AN INSPIRING STORY: A GLORIOUS FAILURE

  Mr. PELL. Mr. President, we often celebrate success on the floor of 
the Senate: the passage of a particularly difficult bill, the 
ratification of a difficult international agreement, or even the 
retirement of a public figure who has built a record of achievements.
  This time, however, I would like to share with my colleagues the 
inspiring story of a glorious failure. It truly is an inspiring story 
for several reasons: the age of the individual involved, the wisdom of 
his perspective, and the strength of his spirit.
  I do not know Mark Pfetzer but, as a Rhode Islander, I have been 
following the news accounts of this 15-year-old high school freshman's 
attempt to become the youngest person to climb Mount Everest.
  Mark has climbed at least 26,000 feet up the 29,028-foot Himalayan 
mountain, perhaps even higher, when he reportedly was forced to turn 
back because of rib injuries.
  According to his mother, he was injured during a coughing fit brought 
on by the extremely dry and thin air near the summit. Those injuries 
reportedly led a doctor to rule Mark out of the final assent to the 
summit.
  I found one quote from Mark's mother, Christine Pfetzer, to be 
particularly telling. She said that during his preparations for the 
expedition he was fond of a quote by the Roman general Cassius: ``In 
great attempts it is glorious to fail.''
  Mr. President, I congratulate Mark on his effort, his wisdom, and his 
spirit. I am confident that his glorious failure will lead him to a 
life of continued success.
  I trust that, with his attitude, he eventually will climb the highest 
mountain--all the way to the top. I am sure he will go on to new 
conquests, if he remains willing to take the chance of failure.
  We wish him well and, when he returns to Rhode Island in June, I hope 
his homecoming is only the beginning of a life with great promise.
  I ask unanimous consent that a May 18 wire story by the Associated 
Press, titled ``15-Year-Old Fails in Everest Summit Attempt,'' be 
printed in the Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered by be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Middletown, R.I. (AP).--A 15-year-old high school 
     freshman's attempt to become the youngest person to climb 
     Mount Everest has been halted by rib injuries.
       Mark Pfetzer spoke to his mother, Christine Pfetzer, by 
     phone this morning from an Everest base camp. She said Mark 
     was forced to give up a summit attempt because of bruised and 
     sprained rib muscles and at least one cracked rib.
       Mark was injured during a coughing fit brought on by the 
     extremely dry air on the 29,028-foot Himalayan mountain, she 
     said, adding that the doctor who examined her son had seen at 
     least five similar injuries on Everest this year.
       Christine Pfetzer said she did not know how high her son 
     climbed before he turned back. He had reached 26,000 feet 
     earlier in the expedition.
       Pfetzer said recent severe weather on the mountain has 
     cleared and at least two other climbers from Mark's 
     expedition will attempt the summit climb. Her son, however, 
     will not be among them.
       ``With the ribs, the doctor said no,'' Christine Pfetzer 
     said.
       ``(Mark) did work really hard,'' she said. ``I think he 
     should have all the commendations he can get for what he 
     accomplished at his age.''
       Pfetzer added that during her son's preparations for his 
     Everest expedition he was particularly fond of a quote by the 
     Roman general Cassius: ``In great attempts it is glorious to 
     fail.''
       She said her son's rib injuries would take about a month to 
     heal, but that he already is looking ahead.
       He said, ``There's next time,'' she said.
       Since taking up climbing three years ago at a summer camp, 
     Pfetzer has climbed once in the Himalayas, scaled Argentina's 
     22,834-foot Mount Aconcagua, 19,347-foot Mount Cotopaxi in 
     Ecuador and two Peruvian peaks, 18,870-foot Mount Pisco and 
     22,200-foot Mount Huascaran.
       Only about 400 people have reached Everest's peak since Sir 
     Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tensing Norkay of Nepal 
     first scaled it in 1953. Another 109 have died in the 
     attempt.
       A 17-year-old French boy was the youngest person ever to 
     climb Everest, reaching the summit in 1990.
       Christine Pfetzer said she expects Mark back in Rhode 
     Island in the first week of June.
     

                          ____________________