Features Q&A
Mountain climbing for mental health: An update from Toronto Police’s Tom Comeau

In Dec. 2022, editor Brittani Schroeder spoke with Det. Tom Comeau of the Toronto Police Service before he embarked on a journey to summit two mountains in Nepal in support of first responder mental health.

In June 2024, the pair caught up on what’s happened since and where he plans to go next.

Q: Since 2023, you’ve been climbing mountains in support of Canada Beyond the Blue. Can you provide an update on how summiting Lobuche East and reaching the Everest Base Camp felt?

Comeau: My trip back to Nepal in April 2023 was an amazing experience and a great learning expedition where I learned many mountaineering skills required to climb big mountains.

The weather during the 2023 spring climbing season was challenging, given all the snow we had in the Khumbu region, but it certainly made the mornings beautiful—the sun shining off the fresh snow.

Lobuche itself was a difficult climb. We departed high camp at approximately 1 a.m. and climbed through the night in the bitter cold and dark. We summited at around 7 a.m. and had the mountain to ourselves, as we had passed all the other climbers that morning on our way to the top.

Photo: Tom Comeau

Q: Can you tell me about the connections you’ve made while climbing over the last couple of years?

Comeau: I became good friends with a Russian climber in Nepal. We climbed Lobuche together, along with our Sherpa guides. He returned to Nepal this Spring season and double-summited Lhotse and Everest a few days ago. That is a gruelling two-month expedition and an incredibly difficult feat, summiting both mountains in 40 hours.

Q: You’re heading off to do more climbing soon. Where are you going next?

Comeau: I’m off to Tanzania, Africa, next to climb Kilimanjaro, which is one of the Seven Summits of the World sitting at over 5,800 metres.

In January 2025, I am travelling to Argentina to climb Aconcagua, which is the second tallest of the Seven Summits at nearly 7,000 metres. That will easily be a three-week expedition.

I am also planning to return to Ecuador to climb Cotopaxi with a colleague in the Spring of 2025, and I would like to return to Nepal in the Fall of 2025 to attempt Manaslu. Manaslu is an 8,163-metre mountain and the eighth-tallest mountain in the world.

Photo: Tom Comeau

Q: What kind of support have you received from fellow officers in your climbing journey?

Comeau: I was named the Chair of the Toronto Police Amateur Athletic Association’s (TPAAA) mountaineering and trekking group, so I receive several emails a week from individuals looking into joining the sport. My climb in Tanzania will include six other TPAAA group members coming with me to climb their first summit.

Q: What kind of awareness and donations have you been able to raise over the past few years because of your climbs?

Comeau: I was able to raise nearly $14,000 for Canada/Toronto Beyond the Blue in 2023, and I am currently on track to raise another $5,000 before I travel to Tanzania in August. In Jan. 2025, I am also travelling to Argentina and am hoping to raise an additional $5,000.

I’ve also initiated discussions with a few companies to be able to climb Manaslu.

Photo: Tom Comeau

Q: What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned throughout your climbing journey so far?

Comeau: The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that anything is possible. We all believe that we have limits – usually imposed on ourselves throughout our lives. But this lesson applies to life in general, meaning that anything can be accomplished if you set a goal and work towards it.

Q: What would you say to other officers out there who might be interested in starting their own climbing journey?

Comeau: I would advise finding someone with experience and bombarding them with questions. Learn from their experience and mistakes. Then, set reasonable goals and work towards them.

Photo: Tom Comeau