Together on Top of the World

On May 16, 2002, Phil and Susan Ershler reached the
top of Mt. Everest and became the first couple in history
to scale the fabled Seven Summits. What made
their achievement all the more remarkable was that Susan
was not a mountain climber, but a high-powered
Fortune ® 500 executive who had never hiked or climbed
until she met Phil at the age of 36. Phil, a professional
mountain guide who was the first American to summit
Everest from its treacherous north face, had climbed his
whole life with Crohn's disease, a chronic, debilitating
illness. Adding to these challenges, just before their final
summit, Phil was diagnosed with colon cancer, and the
resulting surgeries and complications were expected to
end his career. This is Susan and Phil's story: a tale of
love set in the mountains, a story of triumphal highs
and devastating lows in quest of a seemingly impossible
dream.

PHIL and SUSAN ERSHLER live
in Kirkland, Washington.