Vol. 30, No. 4, #5. On Top of the World.

• Author: Author: Mary Angell

Wyoming Bar Journal

2007.

Vol. 30, No. 4, #5.

On Top of the World

Issue: August, 2007 Author: Mary AngellOn Top of the WorldFor Dale Cottam, climbing a mountain is a metaphor for life.

"You take it one day at a time, break it into smaller pieces," the Cheyenne attorney said about his hobby. "When you're done, you can link up all the smaller pieces you climbed and you get a great sense of accomplishment that you made it all the way to the top."

The same approach can be applied to challenging legal cases, or anything else a person wants to conquer, said Cottam, who practices energy and real estate law with Hirst Applegate, PC. He said his passion for mountain climbing helps him maintain balance in his life.

"It's equally as intense as being a lawyer," he said. "People who work hard ought to know how to play hard."

Cottam has taken on many notable peaks in the United States - Mount Hood, Mount Rainer, Mount Meeker and many others in Colorado. He's also climbed Pico de Orizaba (18,700 feet) and Iztaccihuatl (17,338 feet) in Mexico, as well as several peaks over 20,000 feet in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. Most recently, in 2006, Dale attempted the 23,053-foot Spantik Peak in Pakistan.

The expedition was plagued with problems: lost luggage, equipment failure, adverse weather conditions. After reaching the third camp up the mountain, situated at an altitude of 20,500 feet, Cottam came down with the flu-like symptoms of altitude sickness. He spent the night before his team's summit bid for Spantik violently ill, but still he climbed to 22,400 feet the following day, despite being weakened from severe vomiting. Finally, with a snowstorm threatening to move in and the summit still three hours away, Cottam and several other climbers turned back. He had come within 200 meters of reaching the summit.

"I was disappointed, but not awfully disappointed," he said. "I thought about my family and I thought, 'This is silly to go any higher.' To go any higher, everything would have had to be perfect, but the weather conditions were bad --- it was snowing --- and the gear was not in good shape."

Knowing no rescue was possible from the mountain's highest campsite, Cottam mustered his strength to begin his descent the next day. He had gone without food and with little water for almost two days.

Cottam's children -- three boys and a girl, are all under the...