CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) — Adventure is in Nick Selby's DNA.
The youngest of three kids — he grew up watching his parents and sisters explore the world around them with trips to the western U.S. and the Caribbean.
However, Nick always wanted to aim higher than the tallest point on an island or even in the Rockies.
But...why?
"Because it's there," he said with a grin, quoting famous British mountaineer George Mallory.
Mallory led three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the 1920s trying to become the first person to summit the world's tallest mountain. On the third, he never made it back down — but Nick did.
"I've worked pretty much all my life to get here," he said. "You can prepare for it all you want, but until you see it, it's something else."
Everest stands 29,032 feet above sea level. Up there, the snow glistens like diamonds and the wind howls through the jagged Himalayan peaks like a siren's song to adventurers. Nick heeded that call.
For years, he took mountaineering courses out west, pursued the proper training peaks and worked out for hours on a StairMaster, lugging a 50-70 lb. backpack up each revolving step.
"It's way worse up there," Nick said. "Everything is trying to kill you...Every time you take a step, it feels like your heart is going to explode."
With his feet on flatter — and warmer — ground, Nick is taking the time to reconnect and celebrate with family. His middle sister, Sarah Nichols, can now finally exhale upon his safe return. Nick credits her dominance as a cross country runner when he was a kid for inspiring him to chase his dreams in a different endurance sport.
"I started getting emotional [when he told me I inspired him]," Sarah said. "And then as time went on, I was like 'thank you for not telling us this before you went up Mount Everest so Mom didn't kill me!'"
Thankfully, Mom didn't kill Sarah — and Everest didn't knock off Nick. But the mountain certainly did its best.
Nick had to survive climbing up and down the Khumbu Icefall's seracs — giant blocks of (sometimes moving) ice the size of buildings. He traversed crevasses so deep, he couldn't see the bottom of the crack. Avalanches thundered down the mountain nearby. He dealt with all of that while dealing with an ever-dwindling supply of oxygen — and and ever-rising amount of physical and mental fatigue.
"It was a nightmare," he said.
It was — and it wasn't.
Like most elite endurance athletes, Nick looks back on the challenge, fear and pain of pushing his limits to the brink with a mix of elation and disbelief.
"It feels like a dream," Nick said. "It still doesn't feel real, but it happened."
It did happen — and Nick has proof in the photos and videos he can see and the personal mementos he can touch.
And what do they mean him?
"Everything..." he said.
The mountaineer who chased his dream with clinical precision felt an avalanche of emotion — his eyes speaking more than his voice ever could.
"I'm very lucky."
With his sights now set on safer hobbies, Nick is still occasionally hitting the StairMaster at the Champaign Planet Fitness. He's still popping into his niece's classroom in Mt. Zion. He's still toying with the idea of climbing lower peaks and picking up a parent-approved pastime like pickleball.
Even so, Everest still lingers in his mind.
"I accomplished the biggest goal of my life," he said. "I'm extremely proud of being able to do it — and I'm very lucky to get the opportunity to do it."
An opportunity — forged by a lifetime of dreaming — and heeding a call to adventure that may not ever rest.
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