A window of good weather allowed former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson to achieve his longtime goal of standing at the summit of Mount Everest.
Johnson's wife, Dee, got a call from an official with the expedition Thursday saying the team had reached the summit. Johnson said she was "extremely relieved and very happy" for her husband.
She has kept in close contact with members of the guiding service, International Mountain Guides, who are receiving base camp dispatches in Seattle.
Johnson won't be able to hear her husband's voice until he reaches Everest base camp and has access to a satellite phone. That will likely happen today.
"When I hadn't got the call I started worrying that they were going to run out of time," Johnson said. "I'm still anxious. He still has to get down and getting down is dangerous, too."
The 50-year-old former governor and his team had been turned back twice by high winds. Johnson, who served for two terms, from 1995-2002, has also climbed Mount McKinley in Alaska.