Two months ago, Gary Nishioka stood more than 24,000 feet up Mount Everest struggling to breathe. The 70-year-old Salem resident left for Everest in April, where he would spend up to 17 hours a day trekking through snow and scaling near-vertical walls of blue ice in the thin Himalayan air. After over a month of climbing and 20 pounds lost, he contracted severe altitude sickness and couldn’t go any further.  This Sunday, July 19, now back at sea level, he’ll dive into the Willamette River for Ironman 70.3 Oregon.  Though he initially signed up to do the half-marathon solo, Nishioka now plans to take this year’s race easy on a relay team alongside his wife. Zipped into a wetsuit, he will dive in just after 6 a.m. and swim over a mile upstream to the Riverfront Park docks as the first leg of the race.  Gary Nishioka at Everest in 2023. (Courtesy photo) This year’s Ironman will bring over 3,300 racers to local sidewalks, roads and waters. Over 10,000 visitors total are expected in Salem over the weekend.  Nishioka is one of 141 Salem residents competing in the annual event, which includes a 1.2 mile swim in the Willamette River, a 56 mile bike ride south on River Road and back and a 13.1 mile run through Minto-Brown Island Park and back to Riverfront.  He has competed in nearly every local Ironman, which first came to Salem in 2021. During last year’s race, where he biked over 50 miles, he was already training for the Everest journey.  The trek was his second trip to the mountain, following a 2023 training climb that inspired him to return. For him, the climb was never about checking off a bucket list item. “It was simply, I should try to give Everest this one-time effort to try to summit it,” he said. Everest expeditions take roughly eight weeks and are completed in two phases: acclimatization climbs and the final, shorter summit push. He went with a team of about a dozen other climbers, most of them in their 20s and 30s, with the oldest, besides himself, being in their 40s. Spectators can watch the race from any point on the course, though most activity will be centered on Riverfront Park, 200 Water St. N.E. The event starts at 6:15 a.m., with the awards ceremony at 3:45 p.m. Parking will be limited near the event. Increased traffic is expected around Salem and especially downtown. Road closures will be from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, July 19: Two southbound lanes downtown, Southeast Front and Trade streets, will be closed, with one lane open for cars. Two lanes of Southeast Commercial Street going south will also be closed, with one lane open for vehicle traffic.  In south Salem, Mission Street, between Commercial and South Saginaw streets, will be open to local traffic only. South Saginaw Street between Mission and Owens streets will be open to local traffic only. Owens Street between Southeast Liberty Street and South River Road will be closed to westbound traffic. South River Road will be closed to southbound traffic between Owens Street and Minto Island Park Road.  Find a full map of closures here. “It’s very difficult for people to do that at my age because I’m 70, and there’s nobody on the mountain that’s 70,” he said. “I mean, very, very few people – you can measure it on one hand how many people summited.” Each day on the mountain meant six to 17 hours of climbing through snow, ice and brutally steep terrain. Between climbs, the team rested at camps to get used to the altitude. There, Nishioka enjoyed meals cooked by Sherpas and slept in one- or two-person tents.  Meals became repetitive, Nishioka said, often consisting of beans and rice, canned meats and a few cooked vegetables.  “Everybody gets skinny,” he said. “You do your best to try to keep up with your nutrition, but you … just slim down for sure. In my case, I slimmed down too much.” About five weeks in, 20 pounds down and five thousand feet from the peak, altitude sickness began to set in.  “I was very weak and I couldn’t breathe. I could not breathe even if I was just standing still,” Nishioka said. Other climbers tried to convince him to push on, but tired and breathless, he decided to turn back. “Although the people on the expedition thought I should continue, I just think it was smarter not to because there’s deaths on Everest every year,” Nishioka said. He was seen by doctors at basecamp, who looked at his lungs and diagnosed him with high-altitude pulmonary edema.  Nishioka got back May 19, just in time for the Salem city election, where his wife, Salem City Councilor Linda Nishioka, was running for reelection in Ward 2.  “I had Linda bring my ballot so I could vote in the car on the way home and drop it off,” he said.  Despite cutting the expedition short, Nishioka said he has no regrets.  “Probably the biggest takeaway is that you should try to give things a shot, make an effort to do something, so you don’t have to regret that you didn’t try,” he said. When Nishioka got home, he was still wheezing. He spent another two weeks recovering and getting medical tests, including a chest X-ray and tuberculosis screening. While he spent nine months training for the Everest expedition — something he doesn’t think he’ll attempt again — his preparation for Sunday’s race has been much lighter: two 30-minute sessions at his local pool.  By Thursday, he felt ready. Contact reporter Hailey Cook: [email protected] . “My go-to source every morning for accurate, local news.” Make Salem Reporter your trusted source for independent local reporting – every day. Stay informed and connected. Subscribe today. The post From Everest to Ironman: Returning Salem Ironman competitor takes Sunday race easy after challenging Everest climb  appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less