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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Mountain Climbers Phil, Susan Ershler

Aired May 19, 2002 - 11:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's been a busy week on Mount Everest. More than 50 people reached the Summit Thursday, the most to reach the top in a single day. The group included Phil and Susan Ershler and they became the first married couple to climb the highest peaks on each of the seven continents together, and they join us by phone this morning from Mount Everest on their way down.

How are you guys doing?

PHIL ERSHLER, CLIMBED MT. EVEREST: Hey, Fredricka, this is Phil Ershler. We're doing great and it's a pleasure to be talking to you.

WHITFIELD: Well, thank you so much for making this happen. How incredible. Congratulations for making it to the top and best wishes on your way down. You all have together now climbed the highest peaks on all seven continents. Did you set out to do this or did it just kind of come by osmosis? You were -- you know you did the first one, I guess you set out to do but how in the world did you manage to keep this trend going for yourselves?

P. ERSHLER: Well, I think you hit it on the head, Fredricka. For us, it was just kind of a gradual evolutionary process. We did one early on, years ago when I first met Sue and it just became kind of an annual vacation for us, knocking off one peak after another.

You get to a point where you say hey, we're close enough, let's give it a shot, and we were here on Everest last spring, didn't quite make it. I had actually some eye problems and we said hey, one more time and Sue was the driving force behind this whole thing. She wouldn't give up, so we came back and this year we got super lucky, great expedition, great team, perfect weather, and by God every once in a while you just got to get lucky.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And as you attacked each peak the two of you, did you all have sort of an agreement together that you really wanted to make sure that you both would make it or did you feel like if one felt like they had to fall back, the other would keep going?

P. ERSHLER: Well you know, I think if you asked Sue she'd say, you know, we were doing it together, but I know on this last one, as far as I was concerned, no matter what happened, she was going up but we were fortunate that we both stayed healthy, that everything fell into place and we were able to walk together to the summit of the world. WHITFIELD: Wow. All right, well let me talk to Sue now.

P. ERSHLER: OK, I'm going to turn you over to her. Here you go.

WHITFIELD: OK.

SUSAN ERSHLER, CLIMBED MT. EVEREST: Hi, Fredricka, this is Sue.

WHITFIELD: Hi there, Sue. Congratulations. How incredible.

S. ERSHLER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: How's the view so far?

S. ERSHLER: The view from up there?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

S. ERSHLER: It was absolutely beautiful. We had a wonderful Summit morning. It was sunny and you could see forever. It was just, it was a glorious morning and for Mount Everest terms it was warm.

WHITFIELD: Wow, how incredible that you all have managed to do this, that you set out to do it and then you actually have achieved it. Now Phil was just mentioning that the two of you met on one peak and you decided to together you know make this sort of a ritual, or you guys finally decided this is a great adventure for the two of you together.

But he is a professional climber. You are a former telecommunications executive. Who would you say really kept the momentum going to try and challenge all the peaks of the seven continents?

S. ERSHLER: Well and as Phil said, it really did evolve. We -- I just was going with him while I was on vacation and I would learn more about mountaineering. I'm certainly not a mountaineer. I am a career person but he's the world's best guide, so I learned an awful lot from him, and what happened was after we had captured four of those peaks, we just decided, you know, we can do this, and so I quite honestly, Fredricka, absolutely wanted to climb Everest and Phil has already done in 1984 and just accommodated me quite honestly.

WHITFIELD: Wow, and so how in the world do you top this? You've now managed to climb all the highest peaks of all the continents, and now so what do you plan now next? I mean it seems like any adventure after this would be dwarfed.

S. ERSHLER: And I thought about that. What I really want to do is lower my golf handicap score.

WHITFIELD: That sounds about right.

S. ERSHLER: That's my goal right now. That's right because I don't know how to top it. WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, well you all best of luck on your way down and best of luck on your next adventure. I'm sure you're going to find a way to top this one. Thank you very much Susan and Phil Ershler for joining us, on your way down from Mount Everest. That is incredible.

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