About Lance Fox

Born in 1970, I grew up in Central Wisconsin. When I was 8 years old my father was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He was 28 years old at the time. Eight years later he passed away. It was an early lesson for me that life can be short and that we should live it to the fullest.

I was exposed to agriculture and animals at an early age. This exposure manifested a desire within me to become a veterinarian. In 1995 I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-School of Veterinary Medicine with my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. I was in private clinical practice for four years before becoming an industrial veterinarian which I continue to do today.

Let’s go back 1997. My son was born six weeks early and as a result spent the first eleven days of his life in a neonatal intensive care unit in Madison, Wisconsin. At the time it was a 2-3 hour drive from our home near Lake Geneva to the hospital. Luckily the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Madison had a room opening. This stay would change my life. During our stay at RMH I picked up a book from the local bookstore titled Everest: Mountain without Mercy. I read it cover to cover in a day, after which I remember telling myself that someday I would go to that mountain. My son’s early arrival into this world was once again reinforcement for me that life is precious.

I didn’t actually start climbing until 2006. I was enamored with my first Colorado fourteener, the vertical bug had struck! On to Mount Rainier in Washington State the following year which was my first true alpine style climb. I remember yelling out during the climb “Living the Dream!” My original plan was to climb Denali in Alaska, then perhaps on to Aconcagua in South America before an eventual trip to the mighty Himalayas. Yet the Everest opportunity arose in the winter of 2008 so I accelerated my plans a bit, gambling a bit as well. December 2008 found me climbing three dormant volcanoes in Mexico, the tallest one and North America’s third highest point, Pico de Orizaba at just under 19,000 feet. Then in March of 2009 I left for the Himalayas. Almost twelve years after reading that book I stood on top of the world. The photo is of me sending some of my dad’s ashes into the air while sitting at the summit of Everest. The adventure was captured by the Discovery Channel show Everest Beyond the Limit (Season 3, episode Deathzone Gridlock).

To date, I have scaled 14 different peaks around the world including multiple fourteeners in Colorado, Mount Rainier, the volcanoes of Mexico (including the 3rd highest point in N. America, Pico de Orizaba), Lobuche East in Nepal twice and Mount Everest.

I currently reside near New London, Wisconsin with my wife Katherine, also a veterinarian. Together we have two grown kids, son Jordan and daughter Bailee both living in Wisconsin.

Contact Lance at lancesfox@gmail.com