How Curtis Zack's dad inspired him to walk on mountains
Curtis Zack, Portfolio Manager in Leidos’ National Security & Defence division, is the kind of person who, upon hearing of his friend's plans to climb Kilimanjaro, decided he’d tackle Everest Base Camp.
“A lot of people kept asking why on earth I'd want to do something like that?'" Curtis says. “But my natural instinct is to try new things, and I like a challenge. If something interests me, then I'm inclined to throw everything into it."
That determination is something Curtis inherited from his father, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's at the age of just 27 years old.
I always think about what my life was like at 27 and how it would have felt to have been diagnosed with an incurable disease at that age, but my dad had this great sense of humour, and he was just ultra-resilient and positive throughout it all.
Curtis Zack
Portfolio Manager, Leidos
Curtis initially considered repeating the efforts of Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who first summited the world’s highest mountain 70 years ago this month [29th May]. But, in light of the monetary and time commitment required for a summit attempt, he decided that a trek to Everest base camp would be a fitting tribute to his father's resilience.
Having recruited his brother-in-law and a friend to join him on the expedition, Curtis proposed that the group should use the trek as an opportunity to raise funds for Parkinson's UK, which supported Curtis' parents until his father passed away in 2009.
Having no prior experience with high-altitude trekking, Curtis set himself a rigorous regime of stair climbing, treadmill running, and repeated ascents of the Yorkshire Three Peaks — though he acknowledges that ascending the 736-metre summit of Whernside was a “totally different experience" from the lofty 5,364-metre heights of Everest Base Camp.
While that training stood him in good stead from a fitness perspective, Curtis was still taken aback by just how cold it got at high altitudes. Other challenges included the occasional boredom of long evenings trapped in a climbing hut and the intense cravings for the home comforts of a beef burger. Yet all difficulties seemed small when set against the perfect weather conditions that the group experienced.
“The weather was pretty poor in the weeks leading up to arrival, but it completely turned around at the end of March," he says. “By the time we had arrived, it was glorious sunshine during the day, fantastic visibility, and we just had a brilliant experience."
While partially down to luck, that good weather was also a matter of careful planning. Everest's best weather windows are either March-April or September-October, meaning that timing was of the essence when it came to making a successful attempt at base camp.
“We needed 15 days in total to do it, including travel time, but I managed to carry over nine days of time off," Curtis says. “I was conscious that I'd have to take a lot of leave to do this, so that really helped in making sure I'd be able to take a holiday with my family as well."
Beyond benefiting from Leidos' flexibility regarding his taking time away from work to train, Curtis also experienced the support of people from across the company who contributed to the group's fundraising efforts, helping them to raise just over £3,000 for Parkinson's UK.
“There was lots of support from other Leidos employees, and I really saw the wider network coming onboard," he says. “There were people I don't really know that well, even people from our US business, who sponsored me."
Having been back in the UK for a few months, Curtis is already planning his next mission, chatting with his friend and brother-in-law about potentially tackling Kilimanjaro next year.
“Whenever I talk to people about the trip, loads of them say they'd like to do something similar," Curtis says, “And I would just encourage anyone thinking about an expedition like this to just give it a go. It really is an experience of a lifetime."
Flexibility is a core element of Leidos’ employee value proposition – the company has been empowering people to work flexibly for years so that they can achieve their personal life goals and career aspirations.
