Summiting Everest with Diabetes: An interview with Sebastien Sasseville (Days 1 and 2 at CWD FFL)

Sebastien Sasseville's diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes in 2002 did not cause him to rethink his goals as a mountaineer. Having trekked through Nepal in 2001, Seb already had his sights set on climbing Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak. He did in fact reach the summit in May of 2008, sending a powerful message that we can all climb our mountains - whether they are in the form of an illness or literally thousands of feet tall.

After meeting Sebastien and listening to him give a presentation about his experience climbing Everest, I was completely awed. Not only does he set an incredible example for people with diabetes, in terms of managing the disease and not letting it slow him down physically, he inspires everyone with his attitude.

Two quotes from Seb:

"Diabetes felt like a gift from Day One. I can't honestly say why I felt that, but I did."

"Diabetes and Everest - two obstacles. One I chose and one I did not. I wouldn't have climbed [Everest] without having diabetes."

It seems to me that Sebastien has been propelled forward by his diabetes rather than been held back by it at all. He really values the challenge that has come to him in the form of diabetes, and perhaps this is what has made him embrace other challenges, such as climbing Mount Everest.

I was lucky enough to speak to him one-on-one about what is was like to test his bg, take insulin and stay sane while up on the mountain. Here's how it went:

When you were first diagnosed, did you think that you might not be able to achieve your athletic goals?

No - Obviously, the first few months, you take it easy... you have to learn how to eat... [how to just adjust to diabetes]. I stopped and started progressively to get back into [training]. Then the next thing was, I wanted to share with people my love of mountaineering, and my vision that diabetes wasn't a limitation, so I organized a trip and we took teens to Mt. Kilamanjaro. That was in 2005. It took about a year just to put the project together, and then a year later, we had the first information sessions with the parents and the families.

How many teens did you take?

We had nine teens with diabetes, although about a hundred families had showed up at the information sessions.

Did any of them have mountaineering experience?

No, nothing. Absolutely nothing. Kilamanjaro is not a technical [climb] - it's just basically a long trek. You are going into very serious altitude, you're almost touching 6000 meters, so there are some risks, and every year people die on Kilamanjaro - it shouldn't happen, you know?

So, I did that, and then continued training at home. I lived in Vancouver, so I took mountaineering lessons, and I climbed - every year I tried to climb internationally, and climb something bigger, to kind of test my body at altitude. Not everybody can take altitude; some people just stop acclimatizing at 5000 or 7000, it's just a personal thing, so you want to test that before.