Jake Norton - Colorado College Class of 1996

Jake Norton

Class of ’96

Climber, Motivational Speaker, Photographer

Colorado Springs, Colorado

When media across the country learned that one of the climbers on the recent news-making Everest expedition spoke Nepalese and hailed from Colorado Springs, their first call was to the Colorado College Alumni Office. With a strong Asian studies program, world-class climbing just minutes away, and accessibility to a study-abroad program in Nepal, CC was the obvious connection to Jake Norton.

Jake Norton '96Already an avid climber, Jake arrived on campus and went straight to the Study Abroad Office. He found a program in Nepal that included intensive language study, so during fall semester of his sophomore year, Jake and two CC friends made their journey.

His learning about the Nepali people had already begun. Declaring a history-philosophy major with an emphasis in South Asia, Jake eventually did a thesis on a form of Buddhism practiced by the Newar tribe of the Kathmandu Valley.

The last two years of college, Jake and his friends lived in a local Victorian home, “and it just broke our hearts to see this amazing house falling apart. As history majors, we were intrigued by these old places.” So just after graduation, the three formed a real estate development company, buying, restoring, and selling or renting local Victorian homes. “Our plan from the start was to create a stable source of income that would allow us to do the things we love and still have the flexibility to take off for a couple of months at a time.

That plan worked, as shortly thereafter, Jake was invited to climb Cho Oyu, “the goddess of turquoise,” a neighbor of Everest and, at 8,201 meters, the sixth highest peak. The leader of that expedition called him just a year later and told him of the possibility of an Everest trip. At first, Jake wasn’t that excited. “The summit of Everest never really held a huge appeal for me,” he says, “because I’ve seen too many people die over the years going for it, and I don’t want to end up like that.” But when he learned they’d be looking for the bodies of Mallory and Irvine, reputed to possibly be the first climbers to reach Everest’s summit, he was hooked. With his experience in the field, Jake helped find sponsors for the two-and-a-half-month endeavor. Not only did they find Mallory’s remains, but Jake, the only climber who brought a camera on that day, was able to publish several photos in National Geographic Adventure and other publications, including the expedition book, Ghosts of Everest. Since then, he’s launched his own company, MountainWorld Photography.

Today, he’s planning a second trip to Everest to find Irvine and the camera Irvine may have had, as well as to do a comprehensive archeology of all the old expeditions. “We’d really like to put together an exhibit that’s a tribute to what these guys managed to pull off,” he says. Still, Jake’s realized that “living in a tent and having a nomadic life is not exactly what I want for the long haul.” He’s working on an opportunity with a nongovernmental relief agency that helps the Tibetan and Nepali people.

Jake credits Colorado College with helping him further his passion and unite all his interests in life. He found the Block Plan not only allowed him more time to climb -- it also helped him academically. “I’ve always been the kind of person who likes to dive in to one subject and focus on it,” he explains, “and I always found myself distracted in high school when I’d have 10 different things going at the same time.”

It was his college history, philosophy, and religion professors who inspired him most, their example ringing true with Jake’s mountaintop experience. “The quality of professors at CC is phenomenal,” he says. “They really care about their students as people and encourage each one of us to reach our fullest potential.”