International Series: Cowboy Tennis Coach Is Reaching New Heights

This is the new Oklahoma State tennis feature series called the International Series. Each feature will tell a different story of a player or coach on the Cowboy Tennis squad.

By John Langham, OSU Athletic Communications

STILLWATER, Okla. – In life, everyone is trying to reach the top of the figurative mountain.

But in the case of Oklahoma State men's tennis assistant coach Nate Feldman, that phrase has a more literal meaning.

Feldman, who has been summiting mountains for three years now, was introduced to climbing by his uncle.

"He guided parties in the Cascade mountain range up in Seattle," Feldman said. "And he's been doing that for ages so it has become a tradition with him and his interns that he'll take them out on an expedition every year. So while reconnecting with my family, he took me out on my first expedition and kind of launched the whole thing off."

Now a climbing veteran, Feldman has traveled across the globe to climb to the top of some of the world's highest peaks.

"Making it to the country's high-point in Mexico and Sweden were both amazing views," Feldman said. "But just the difficulty of Cayambe, with the conditions and difficulty, was probably the most rewarding one so far."

Volcan Cayambe is a volcano located 43 miles northwest of Quito, the capital of Ecuador. At 19,003 feet, it registers as the third highest mountain in Ecuador.

During this year's winter break, the Minneapolis native decided to attempt to summit the mountain - which proved to be one of the biggest challenges of Feldman's climbing career.

"We had a lot of bad weather on our climb," Feldman said. "There were a lot of adverse conditions because the mountain was very dry so there were crevices, seracs and some dangerous weather.

"It was, by far, the toughest just based on the condition and the amount of suffering to go through and the height to have to climb."

Since Cayambe was first summited by British adventurer Edward Whymper and his two Italian guides, Juan Antonio and Luis Carrel, in 1880, it has become a favorite of mountain climbers across the world. For Feldman, getting to the top of the volcano also helped him break his personal altitude record.

"That was the furthest I've been," Feldman said. "But I actually felt really good during the climb and can push for more now."

Feldman's motivation to push himself further comes from what inspires him to constantly reach for the peak.

"I think about all of the people that support me," Feldman said. "My family for sure and all my players. They can share the summit with me, even though they can't see it. They're there with me in spirit."

Feldman also believes that the adversity he has faced while climbing has made him better at his day job. Now in his second season at OSU, the Cowboy coach is hoping to help the team reach the top of its own mountain.

"I'm more perceptive now because I embraced the suffering," Feldman said. "The guys on the team know that I've gone through that. And now I can translate what I've learned to them through sports.

"Tennis, life and climbing all share a lot of the same principles for me."

For updates on Feldman and the rest of the Cowboys, follow @CowboyTennis on Twitter and Instagram.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

International Series: Cowboy Tennis Coach Is Reaching New Heights

Related News

Related Videos