Bio
Born in Muskegon, Michigan. Played football, planned on being a pro quarterback, but discovered rock climbing in the nick of time. Supported his new habit by working as a bouncer, crab fisherman, uranium miner. Moved into high-altitude climbing and began bagging big peaks around the world. Lives in Seattle. Forty years old, with a wife and two children. Owns an international climbing business called Mountain Madness.

First impressions
Big, built, with shoulder-length blond hair and a face that Webster's Dictionary would want for the "ruggedly handsome" entry. Very strong hands. One-arm pull-ups. Disgusting endurance. Drinks a lot of coffee; packs an espresso maker on all expeditions. Gregarious. Loves swapping climbing stories, and has some real cliff-hangers in his repertoire, like surviving an avalanche on K2, or discovering while rock climbing in Africa that "baboons can be pretty territorial about rock ledges."

THE DEEP SIX
Who do you do it for?
"Because I don't know how to do anything else. Seriously, I do it for the adventure, the travel. I've been all over the world, seen some pretty amazing places. Actually, I still do it for the thrill, for the adrenaline, but it's changing. I used to climb to get scared. Now I climb not to get scared, to stay in control."

How will you top yourself?
"There are a few more big mountains I'd like to climb. I've still got to do the [16,864-foot] Vinson Massif in Antarctica to finish the Seven Summits [the highest peak on each of the seven continents]. Also, I think I'll probably climb all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks, but I'm not in such a hurry anymore."

What's your current focus?
"I used to concentrate on big mountains, but my focus these days is rock climbing. I've been getting into the indoor gym a lot, pushing my skills. Indoor climbing is a lot more fun than I thought it would be, and a lot more challenging."

What makes you angry?
"Lack of commitment from climbing partners. Enough said."

Who are your heroes?
"Reinhold Messner, because he wrote the book on high-altitude climbing, but also because he had vision. He understood the importance of setting goals. Also, Paul Petzoldt, founder of the National Outdoor Leadership School, in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. He was one of my first instructors and his style of teaching and climbing had a huge impact on me."

What scares you most?
"Making a bad decision and dying in the mountains, to be perfectly honest. Not coming home from a trip, leaving my kids without a dad. That scares me. We can control a lot of things [on expeditions] but even so, things happen."

K2. The world's second tallest mountain and arguably its most difficult to climb, 28,250-foot K2 combines sheer faces and unpredictable weather in brutal--and often lethal--alpine beauty.

High-altitude landfill. The world's tallest peak is also among its most polluted, with tons of garbage, old equipment, and other climbing flotsam. New rules now require Everest expeditions to "pack it out."

Flanked by good-luck prayer flags, Fischer and partner Peter Goldman stand on the summit of Pakistan's Broad Peak in August, 1995. The expedition descended safely in the fierce storm that killed seven climbers on nearby K2.

On K2's summit. Despite bad weather and an avalanche that left him with a dislocated shoulder, Fischer reached the top of K2 in 1992.