Confronting Death with Confidence Ross Arseneau is a confident man. A respected math teacher at a prestigious private school, Arseneau is always prepared. As a former student and current advisee, I wanted to explore the other side of a reserved man. Ross Arseneau: the serious mountain climber. I sit down with him and dive into a conversation. I wanted to know what it takes to climb a mountain. e opens up and lets out unimaginable experiences. Confidence keeps him alive.
He looks up at the massive mountain in complete awe. Arseneau establishes that “Every mountain has to respected, danger cannot always be seen, but underneath the snow, danger is always there.” Arseneau starts his toughest climb: Jungfrau. Jungfrau the main mountain in the …show more content…
A crevasse, a deep opening in a glacier, is terrifying to climb above. Arseneau scales the wall, driving his ice axe deep into the snow to maintain a proper grip at all times. He is confident in his own abilities, and has the courage to trust the mountain guide belaying him. Arseneau looks below into a deep pit, remembering Lee Adams. Lee Adams died in 2010 at Mount Rainier after falling into a crevasse. Arseneau climbed Mount Rainier the day after Adams’ death. He reminisces, “One of the guys in the group must have fallen, the guy who was leading them, a well-known rock climber in the area must have been taken off his feet, and all four people were sliding down the face into the crevasse. One died.” However, Arseneau keeps faith in his arduous training and pushes on.
Arseneau trains year round for these big mountain climbs. He always keeps in shape. He pushes himself to hike for long periods of time without rest. Utilizing Independence Oaks, an Oakland County Park, Arseneau climbs up and down a fast elevation gaining ski hill for 2-3 hours in a row. Arseneau keeps pressing on until he is dizzy, even on seal level. He builds stamina and exposes himself to conditions successful mountain climbers need to