(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A radiologist from northwest suburban Park Ridge is back on flat land after he climbed North America's tallest mountain.
Dr. Ryan Braun climbed to the top of Denali in Alaska. His trek up the 20,000 foot mountain started on May 19. He reached the top on May 31.
Braun said he was no stranger to mountains. He is a skier and he's hiked through National Parks in the Rocky Mountains. Four years ago, he and a college friend talked about climbing Denali during a Notre Dame football tailgate.
Braun spent years training for the climb. He spent hours on stairmaster machines at a local gym. He would wear a heavy backpack during his stair climbing exercises to simulate conditions on the mountain, he said.
Braun said some of the sights from the top of the mountain were so striking they didn't seem real.
He's back in Park Ridge and grateful for the support he received from his family. He says the accomplishment has yet to sink in.
"It's such a whirlwind. Three weeks ago I didn't even know if I could feel confident standing on the mountain. Now, I'm back in Park Ridge with it checked off the list," he said.
Dr. Braun is the recipient of a donor kidney, and he said the climb would have been impossible without organ donation.
"It is not possible to get remotely close to mountain climbing if you are a patient on (kidney) dialysis. I would like to remind everybody to sign your organ donor cards and if you know anybody that needs a kidney to consider donating."
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