Aztecs continue ‘Climb’ with inspiration from Coronado man who scaled Mount Everest

“The Climb” is a theme adopted this season by the San Diego State football team.

It serves as a metaphor for the journey that began in January with winter workouts. When SDSU picked up the season’s sixth win over the weekend at Fresno State, it ensured the climb will extend into December with a postseason bowl game.

“We’ve been very intentional of stripping it all down, starting from the studs, assuming nothing,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said when “The Climb” was introduced on social media. “Like climbing a ladder. One step at a time. The base of that ladder is going to be the connection and the people. And the strength of that base is going to determine how high we can go.”

Lewis literally brought in a mountain climber to talk to the Aztecs before last week’s game against Fresno State.

“We actually had a gentleman from Coronado who came in and spoke to our team who had climbed Mount Everest,” Lewis said. “I learned in that discussion that you actually get to 26,000 or 25,000 feet, and you’re less than 5,000 feet from the summit, and you actually go back to base camp, and then reacclimate and go on with the suffering of this journey all over again.

Richard Bailey, the former mayor of Coronado, scaled Mount Everest in May, reaching South Summit, which is 28,704 feet above sea level. It was his second attempt, according to a story in The Coronado Times, and followed three years of training to properly prepare for the ascent.

It took more than a month for Bailey to reach the summit. He battled horrible weather, treacherous footing, infections, severe vomiting and depleted oxygen.

“If it weren’t for the always impending fear of death, it would be an incredible experience I would recommend to anyone,” Bailey told the newspaper.

The talk made an impact on SDSU’s players.

“I drew a lot (from it). One, that he’s a little bit crazy,” safety Eric Butler said. “Two, a lot of grit, for sure. Preparation. You don’t just start climbing and climb Mount Everest. There’s preparation. Climb smaller mountains. … A lot of stuff that translates to our journey.”

SDSU tight end Seth Adams said he was “definitely able to draw quite a few similarities, from our journey getting here in January, prepping, getting ready for our climb.”

Lewis said retreating to base camp before making the final ascent provided a “perfect parallel” to SDSU’s journey during a midseason break before beginning the second half of the season against the Bulldogs.

“We prepped our gear, we edited our lives,“to know then that these final six weeks were going to be something really special,” he said. “The guys have done great work and we’re sitting here 6-1, but there’s still so many goals that we haven’t come close to attaining yet that fuel what we’re going to do.”

SDSU (6-1, 3-0 Mountain West) puts its five-game winning streak on the line Saturday against Wyoming (4-4, 2-2), which is coming off a shutout win over Colorado State.

Said Lewis: “The higher you climb, the harder it gets. You have to know that as you go. … You embrace the pain and the suffering that’s probably often too much avoided in everyday life. But that’s what makes it meaningful.”

By the numbers

SDSU leads the Mountain West — and is among the nation’s leaders — in several defensive categories.

2 — Rushing touchdowns allowed. Second only to Ohio State (1).

4 — Defensive touchdowns scored. Tied for third with Maryland and Troy and trailing Louisiana Tech (5) and Tennessee (5).

10.4 — Points allowed per game. Second only to Ohio State (5.9).

96.7 — Pass efficiency rating. Third in FBS behind Oregon (88.86) and Arizona (93.69).

66.7 — Red zone percentage. Fourth in FBS, after Ohio State (50.0), USC (59.1) and SMU (64.5).

26.6 —  Third down conversion rate (5th in FBS)

255 — Yards allowed per game (9th).

2.73 — Rushing yards allowed per carry (9th).

88.4 — Rushing yards allowed per game (10th).

10.1 — Yards per completion (15th)

166.7 — Passing yards allowed per game (16th).