AAMC Reporter: January 2007

There's Ice in His Veins

Ronald Crystal has been ice climbing around the world for several years

It may not be easy to think of a hobby more challenging than preparing for and running in marathons. But Ronald Crystal, M.D., M.S., found one. At age 60, no less. After his marathon times plateaued, Crystal decided it was time to move on.

"When I turned 60 about five years ago, I decided I needed another hobby," he said. "And I had always been fascinated with the challenge of climbing."

But not just any climbing.

Crystal, a professor at Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University and a physician in the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital, has now been involved in ice climbing—scaling frozen mountainsides and waterfalls—for several years.

"The endurance you need is very similar to that of marathoning, and it takes a similar mindset," he said. "And you end up going to such beautiful places and seeing things many people don't get an opportunity to see."

Crystal started off picking his way up what he calls "medium size" peaks—a measly 14,000 feet or so. Since then, climbing expeditions have taken him around the world, from the Rockies to the Alps, and from China to New Zealand.

While trying to maintain a grip on a wall of ice several hundred, or thousand, feet in the air may appear stressful, Crystal sees it another way.

"It may sound counterintuitive, but it's actually very relaxing," he said.

"When you are ice climbing, you cannot think about anything else. You have to focus on it every second. All your other concerns disappear, and after doing it, I come out ready to tackle my other challenges afresh. Gratification in the medical profession is very intellectual. Ice climbing is a different kind of challenge, a more personal challenge."

—S.H.

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