The Daily - June 11,2022 - 69

American Warriors
Jay Glazer and Kirstie Ennis talk about
battling depression and how the
outdoors can literally be a lifesaver.
By Helen Olsson
AMID THE BUSTLE OF THE SHOW
on Thursday, an intimate conversation
about mental health issues
took place between two serious
badasses in the Altama booth.
Jay Glazer, an NFL insider and
sports reporter for Fox Sports and
the founder of Merging Vets &
Players (MVP), and Kirstie Ennis,
a former Marine Corps machine
gunner who lost her left leg in a
helicopter crash in Afghanistan,
sat down to talk about their journeys
with depression. " I started
having panic attacks in 2005,
and I thought I was having heart
attacks, " said Glazer, whose MVP
organization connects combat
veterans and former pro athletes
to provide support after the uniform
comes off. " My life is great,
but sometimes between my ears, it
sucks, " he added. Glazer shared a
series of strategies for combating
depression that are covered in his
book, Unbreakable: How I Turned
My Depression and Anxiety into
Motivation and You Can Too.
He advocates for laughter, exercise,
service, and creating teams.
Teams can be friends, coworkers,
God, even your dog, he said. " We
need to lean on each other. "
Ennis met Glazer at his gym,
and they quickly became a team
of their own. When Glazer needs
support, he reaches out to Ennis.
" I'll call her up and say, 'I need
help.' " During the talk, they both
said they've also leaned on the
outdoors. In the wake of her accident,
Ennis lost her will to live.
She turned to snowboarding and
says that the sport saved her life.
She's also become an adaptive
mountaineer, making it to within
600 feet of the summit of Everest
in 2019. When her two climbing
partners ran out of oxygen, she
made the decision to turn around.
" See how selfless she is? " said
Glazer. Ennis read Glazer's book
while climbing Mount Vincent in
Antarctica. " It was so powerful
and motivating. I called him and
said, 'Thanks for making me cry
at 16,000 feet.' "
The tableside chat wrapped
up with a conversation about
gear (they're both ambassadors
for Altama). " If I don't have the
appropriate gear, I can't do what
I do, " said Ennis. " Especially with
the prosthetics, without the right
gear, there'd be some pretty severe
consequences. "
" Mr. El Cap " Mike Corbett, a
longtime fixture in Yosemite
Valley and best known for
assisting Mark Wellman in
making the first ascent of
El Capitan by a paraplegic
(1989), died at his home in
Ahwahnee, California, on
May 8.
When he didn't show up to
work on that fateful day, his
friend and coworker from the
Yosemite Climbing Museum
in Mariposa-a short distance
from Ahwahnee-came to his
house and found him unresponsive.
The cause of death
remains unknown. Corbett is
survived by his daughter, Ellie,
and his grandchildren.
I met Corbett shortly after
moving to Yosemite in 1995,
when I was 18. By that time,
Corbett, who moved to the
park during his teens in the
early 1970s, had already secured
his place as one of the
most prolific big-wall climbers
the park had ever seen. He
had more than 50 ascents of
the Great Stone in the Sky
(El Capitan), including first
ascents on the formation.
He introduced me to the late
Warren Harding, who made
the first ascent of the Nose.
Over the decades, Corbett
shared many stories about the
vertical and his crossings of
the Sierra, as well as his love
of cats. In the weeks before
his death, I rode my e-bike
over to the Yosemite Climbing
Museum and sat chatting with
him for hours. Then one day,
he was gone.
Corbett's celebration of life
will take place on June 25 at
the Yosemite Climbing Museum,
followed by an informal
gathering at the Yosemite
Boulder Farm in Mariposa.
OUTDOOR RETAILER SUMMER 2022 /
69
REMEMBERING YOSEMITE
CLIMBING LEGEND MIKE CORBETT
October 5, 1953-May 8, 2022
By Chris Van Leuven
FROM TOP: CHRIS VAN LEUVEN, LAUREN DANILEK
The Daily - June 11,2022

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