By Allen Howard
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Students at Taft Information Technology High and Bloom Back On Track schools heard a message Friday from someone who has climbed the world's highest mountains.

It came from Jean Ellis, an emergency room physician in Billings, Mont., who has scaled Mount Everest twice. He is the first African-American to accomplish such a feat.

The doctor, a Walnut Hills and University of Cincinnati graduate who grew up in Kenwood, shared his mountain-climbing experiences with the students, emphasizing that climbing a mountain is not a death wish, but rather "the ultimate expression of a life wish."

"I wanted them to know that up there on a mountain, you learn what is really important in life, such as food, shelter, survival and meal preparation," Dr. Ellis said. "When you come down, you have a greater appreciation of the simple things in life. And the important message I want to give them is to learn how to rely on themselves."

Dr. Ellis, 56, said he has been climbing mountains 22 years and tries to climb at least one a year.

Dr. Ellis qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials as a marathon runner in 1980, the year the United States boycotted the Summer Games in Moscow.

"I didn't want to wait four years to try out for the Olympics again and I didn't want to become a couch potato," he said.

He read about a seminar about high-altitude medicine given in Nepal.

"I climbed up 17,000 feet and saw Mount Everest and I became hooked," he said. "Here I was, couldn't even remember what a Boy Scout camp was like as a kid, and suddenly I am learning how really to appreciate nature on top of a mountain."

One of his most exciting climbs was Tibet's Cho Oyu mountain peak in 1996, a height of 8,000 meters.

He's climbed mountains in Ecuador, Peru, Nepal, Bolivia, Argentina, Russia and Alaska.

"I guess I like mountain climbing because I like freedom and solitude," he said. "A lot of your time is spent alone. It is the best way to get away from things."

E-mail ahoward@enquirer.com