Mike Posner conquers Mount Everest
Mike Posner has conquered Mount Everest as part of a charity mission in memory of his late father.
The singer-songwriter shared the news on Twitter yesterday (June 1), confirming that he reached the summit at 4:35AM local time alongside his guide, Dr. Jon Kedrowski; Dawa Chirring Sherpa, and Dawa Dorje Sherpa.
“That’s what I call a sunrise,” Posner tweeted, saying that the team would continue descending into base camp today (June 2) and were “not out of the woods”.
Posner announced in April that he would attempt to summit the world’s highest mountain to raise funds for the Detroit Justice Centre. He said his decision to raise funds for the centre was inspired by the work of his late father, a veteran defence attorney from the city.
This morning at 4:35 am, Dawa Chirring Sherpa, Jon Kedrowski, Dawa Dorje Sherpa and Mike Posner summited Mt Everest. That’s what I call a sunrise.
We are now back at camp 2 but not out of the woods until we descend to base camp tomorrow am. Please keep us in your prayers ??☺️
— mikeposner (@MikePosner) June 1, 2021
“Before my dad died, he was a criminal defence attorney in Detroit for over 40 years. And so I’ve chosen to dedicate my climb of Mount Everest to the Detroit Justice Centre because they’re doing criminal justice reform work in my city that will make my dad beam with joy,” Posner said.
The inspiration to climb Everest came to Posner halfway through his mission to walk across America in 2019, which took him just over six months to complete.
“While my walk was about me finding myself, I want my climb to be about others,” Posner said in an announcement video.
The singer-songwriter spent a year and a half training for the summit with Dr Jon Kedrowski, who has completed multiple expeditions to Everest.
“After traveling around the world together climbing dozens of mountains and all the types of real situations Mike will face on Everest, we have prepared and trained and drilled and fine-tuned everything,” Kedrowski said on Instagram.
“I wouldn’t let Mike go unless he was completely ready.”
A GoFundMe set up for Posner’s fundraiser has raised more than $223,724 (£158,407) at the time of writing, with a final target of $250,000 (£176,976).
Posner’s last album was 2020’s ‘Operation: Wake Up’.