Former NFL Wide Receiver To Climb Mt. Everest

Former University of Washington football teammates that went on to find places in the NFL are now reaching new heights as they train to take on Mt. Everest.

Former NFL wide receiver Mark Pattison, 59, is currently training to become the first NFL player to climb the Seven Summits.

He is training to take on the tallest and fourth tallest mountains in the world — Mt. Everest and Lhotse, respectively — in just over a month, KMVT reports.

Pattison went on to play for the Raiders, Rams, and Saints as a wide receiver where he made 12 catches during his pro career from 1986 to 1988.

Who better to help train as he prepares to take on Mt. Everest than former Huskie teammate and college and NFL head coach Jim Mora?

“One of the things that has been really amazing is when you put so much effort into the training and grinding up the hill," Pattison told KMVT. "I'm so fortunate that my best friend Jim Mora is here living fulltime in Sun Valley."

Mora, the former Falcons and Seahawks coach, served as the head coach of UCLA before retiring in 2017.

There is a personal cause to Pattison and a foundation is benefiting from his efforts, KMVT reports.

Pattison said his daughter Emilia is the 1 in 26 who has epilepsy, and he is hoping to raise money for a cure along this journey.

“In partnerships with Higher Ground, the NFL, the Raiders and many other very generous contributors, we’re up over $50,000 right now,” Pattison said.

"We are now partnering with Higher Ground to raise $56,972 which represents the combined height of Mt. Everest and of Lhotse which is the fourth highest mountain in the world," he said in a YouTube video.

The former NFL wide receiver will be taking on the tallest and fourth tallest mountains in the world in just over a month.

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