Mountaineer Rob Hill is on his way to joining the exclusive Seven Summits club while raising awareness for intestinal diseases.

For Vancouver mountaineer Rob Hill, it’s six down and one to go. In climbing circles, that “one” is the ultimate high: Mount Everest. The other six are the summits of the tallest peaks on the continents where they stand. By cresting all seven, Hill aims to bring attention to Crohn’s disease, a medical condition from which he suffers and for which there is no known cause or cure. Significantly more North Americans suffer from Crohn’s and related intestinal bowel disorders (IBD), such as colitis, than those living in other parts of the world. And the numbers keep growing. At last count, more than 100,000 Canadians were affected by this mysterious ailment.

In 2002, Hill set off on his first summit quest to Elbrus in Russia, Europe’s highest point at 5,642 metres. With guidance from Brian Jones of the Vancouver-based Canada West Mountain School, he went on to climb Kilimanjaro in Kenya (2003), Aconcagua in Argentina (2004), Denali (Mount McKinley) in Alaska (2005), and Vinson Massif in Antarctica (2006). Two months ago he ticked Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya) in Indonesia off his list. Not too shabby a pace, although all seven have been climbed by several mountaineers in less than a year. Still, Hill is on track to become the first Crohn’s sufferer and ostomate to complete the set, next year.

The Seven Summits is one of the planet’s most exclusive clubs. Depending on how you measure success, between 87 and 115 climbers have managed the feat since this grand slam was first accomplished by Canadian Pat Morrow on August 5, 1986. (American Dick Bass completed a less challenging variation a year earlier, when he ascended 2,228-metre Mount Kosciuszko in Australia; this largest of the Snowy Mountains is rather less formidable than Carstensz, which, at 4,884 metres, is the highest peak in Oceania, the continental land mass of which Australia forms the largest, though not the tallest, part.)

The Straight caught up with Hill at his East Vancouver home just before his departure for Indonesia, and again after his return. He’s a difficult person to track down, not just because of his “No Guts—Know Glory!” summit crusade but also because of a speaking schedule that keeps him constantly on the move across North America and Asia. “The Seven Summits is a global effort that allows me to touch bases with IBD sufferers around the world,” said the 36-year-old. “I do a lot of school talks about climbing and the importance of hydration and nutrition. Last week, a kid asked me: ‘So, you’re like Terry Fox?’ I told him I’m an amputee as well. Terry lost his leg; I lost my large intestine. It’s just that my disability is invisible.”

As much as Hill draws inspiration from personal heroes like Fox and Rick Hansen, his chief role model is Morrow. He credited his long-time love of mountaineering to his father, Norm, who took him climbing for the first time at age eight. His passion flourished at Capilano College when he enrolled in a wilderness training program, led in part by Brian Jones, in 2001. That’s when Hill’s Seven Summits dream was born. “The course gave me the confidence to say ‘This is who I am,’ and I came out the other end of my eight-year journey that began when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s.” During those hard years, Hill said, he dealt with weight loss, bouts of deep depression, and a sense that he was out of touch with the spiritual side of his life. “I felt like I was being punished. The ‘why me?’ question was finally answered by stepping on mountains to inspire others.”

To that end, Hill established the Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society to bring attention to the plight of IBD sufferers, particularly children. “This disease hits kids hardest. They have to grow up fast. Kids truly inspire me during long, cold days on the mountain. I tell school groups, ‘I take you guys every step of the way.’?”

Alongside his work with IDEAS, this year Hill started strengthening his ties with the Vancouver chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada. Each June, the CCFC holds its major annual fundraising event, the Heel ’n’ Wheel-a-Thon. Locally, that means hundreds of IBD sufferers, their families, and supporters show up at Locarno Beach on Father’s Day to walk, run, or pedal a five- or 10-kilometre course along the waterfront and in the forest surrounding the Jericho Sailing Centre. The workout may not match the guts needed to tackle the Seven Summits, but it does give participants a chance to share in the glory that comes with being part of a noble cause.

ACCESS: For more information on Rob Hill’s Seven Summits quest, visit his Web site, www.nogutsknowglory.com . For information on the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada, including Sunday’s (June 17) Heel ‘n’ Wheel-a-Thon fundraiser, visit www.ccfc.ca/. To learn more about expeditions and courses offered by the Canada West Mountain School, visit www.themountainschool.com/ or call 604-878-7007. A list of those who have completed the Seven Summits, as well as all things Everest-related, is posted at www.everestnews.com/ .