Climbing the Highest Peaks The Plan and The Journey

hmm

i had it all planned out i mean really i

knew this mountain

and all of its details i’d never laid a

finger on the iconic

long’s peak the crown jewel of rocky

mountain national park

and in my opinion one of the most

beautiful places in the world

this mountain was over fourteen thousand

feet in altitude or commonly referred to

as a four-tiner making it one of the

tallest mountains in the united states

but i felt like i knew this mountain

intimately through detailed planning

i spent two years thinking about

climbing it and six months planning it

all

out i’d researched

topographical maps studied websites with

other climbers in their experience

called rangers to talk about the weather

and research all the gear i needed to

get to the top safely

when i close my eyes i feel like i could

reach out

and touch it and think about all the

sections and how i would accomplish it

i planned it out down to every last

detail i could think of

so when it was time to put my plan into

action i set forth with three of my good

friends and we took the first step

after hours of hiking everything was

exactly as it should be

we were making great time and everybody

was in great spirits

there’s only one thing i couldn’t plan

for

that was the mountain itself the long’s

peak

had a plan of its own that day

it’s not so bad right i told my friends

there’s words of encouragement to keep

going

but actually it was that bad so we had

just stepped through what’s called the

keyhole

where you jump from one side of the

mountain completely to the other

exposing you to different kind of

weather what we experienced when we got

to the other side

was 40 mile an hour direct winds and 50

to 60 mile an hour gus

can you imagine what it’s like to be

climbing for hours and have that wind

hitting you the whole time

and with the gusts strong enough it can

blow you right off the side of the

mountain

we waited for about an hour hoping the

conditions would change

nothing did that’s when we had to make

the hard decision

we decided to turn around and head back

down to the bottom of the mountain

we were within one thousand feet of the

peak

this was my first major mild and

climbing experience and it would end

in failure

i remember how disappointed i was there

were tears in my eyes

but i wouldn’t let my friends see it

after all that planning and preparation

to fail was devastating i asked my

friends

hey is there the possibility we can try

again the next day

but when i looked at their faces i knew

that this one experience was probably

enough for the trip

and they suggested a brewery tour and

i’m like hey i like a good brewery tour

i remember leaving with a sense of

something truly unfulfilled

but even though i had failed i wasn’t

going to give up on my goal

so over the next year i kept planning

and training

always keeping that goal firmly within

my sight

one morning i woke up at 4 am i was

ready to train

i jumped on my bike and i headed off

into the morning darkness i was less

than a half mile away from my house

when failure would visit me once again i

flipped over the handlebars of my bike

and fractured my left elbow i considered

myself fortunate

because i had cracked my helmet in two

so things could have been much worse

but this would completely push my plans

back

by mid-september i had healed and gained

strength and mobility back in my left

arm

this was a great time to summit but

there was only one other obstacle in my

way

my son was due to be born within weeks

of my recovery

now my wife elizabeth she’s very

understanding and very patient with my

mountain climbing

hobby we’ll call it but she said to me

you know eric i don’t think it would be

the best idea for you to be scaling a

mountain if our son shows up a little

bit early

being the smart husband that i am i

instantly agreed with her

and thus closed the window for another

attempt at long’s peak

i thought to myself you know maybe this

just isn’t meant to be

this isn’t my pathway but every time i

thought about the plan

it’s i could see myself and visualize

myself getting there

and so i kept on and the desire was

burning inside of me

so when 2017 rolled around there was no

injuries or additions to my family to

stand on my way

it was time to take the trip back and

attempt again

so with a few modifications to my

original plan and this time only one

friend to accompany me

we took the first step again

everything was going according to plan

this time we plan to be at the keyhole a

little bit earlier

so we could take in the sunrise when we

stepped across the mountain this time

the conditions were completely different

there was only a nice

five mile an hour breeze just enough to

keep us cool while climbing

so we jumped into long peaks last 1000

feet

the hardest part of it we climbed and we

toiled for hours

until finally i would stand on top of my

very first

it’s hard to put into words thank you

thank you

after three years and multiple failures

i would finally accomplish my goal

it’s hard to put into words how this

feels you feel like you can do anything

you feel like you could conquer the

world

the mountains have taught me some

lessons for taking on

life’s challenging endeavors first

you should always have a plan before you

begin that plan should help you to

visualize success

and will make accomplishing it far

easier

but just having a plan will never get

you to a summit

you have to have the courage to take the

first step

take a moment to think about a plan that

you’ve had something you’re passionate

about

something that you’ve maybe expressed to

a close friend or a family member

yes there are always things that could

stand in your way from accomplishing

your goal

even the best laid plans in the world

can be thwarted by circumstances

and conditions outside of our control

there’s only one thing that we always

control

and that’s how we react i could have

quit after i failed the first or the

second time

but i didn’t view these as failures i

viewed these as something much larger

these were simply moments on a journey

that i have embarked on

now the journey is the amazing part it’s

full of joy

it’s full of twists and turns and it’s

where the world work begins

see my journey in the mountain is really

just beginning my plan

is to accomplish the seven summits or

stand on the highest places

in all seven continents and attempt all

58 of colorado’s fourteeners

i set this goal after longs and since

that time i’ve become much better at

planning

at training and summiting when i first

started my journey

i thought it was all going to look like

this i shot this on top of

mount elbert the highest point in

colorado i was the first one on the

trail in the morning and i swiftly moved

to the top of the mountain

this is a story of conquest this is a

story of physicality

mountain climbing was a sport and i

wanted to be an amazing performer

that was my plan but not surprisingly

i would learn a new lesson on my quest

to the highest places in the world

when the plane touched down on the

tarmac and i’d finished my more than 27

hour trip

to tanzania africa i was ready to

stretch my legs

and get straight to the mountain i

entered into a small

airport and met a group of complete

strangers who would all attempt

kilimanjaro the first summit that most

everyone tries on their quest to the

seven summits

after a gear check and a breakfast

together we went through villages

and banana tree clusters to enter what’s

called the machame gate

this mountain would take seven days to

reach the top and back

and we’d reach a maximum altitude of

19 341 feet almost

one mile than i’d ever been in my life

in addition this mountain takes you

through five unique climate zones

each with their own challenges on the

first day we traveled through the

cultivation zone and the rainforest zone

at the base of the mountain

the group learned an important phrase

that day

pole pole which is swahili for slowly

slowly that would come in handy much

later on the trip

when we stepped into base camp after our

first long day of hiking

local guides had another surprise for us

[Music]

that was an amazing and rather

unexpected moment

i mean these were burly mountain men

carrying packs

who burst into beautiful song when we

walked into camp

by the end we had smiles on our faces

and most of us were dancing along

any thoughts of fear or doubt

washed away if only for a moment

but then i realized something this

wasn’t just a mountain climb

this is about immersing ourselves in a

different culture

learning about its mysteries and its

ways in addition i would get to know my

fellow hikers

when you spend a week together doing a

challenge like this

you get to know each other pretty well

one person sticks out in particular

when i first met her she described

herself as an extreme introvert

she was quiet if you didn’t engage with

her

she would hike for miles without saying

a single word

but i was curious i wanted to learn more

she was a marathon runner she’d gotten

into the sport mostly for herself

but she also was concerned about her

daughter’s health habits

and the path that she was on she wanted

to inspire her daughter to join her

and so they both got into marathoning

together and she changed her life

she was on this mountain to prove to

herself she could do something amazing

as we pressed on i would get to know her

more and more

and then she shared a secret with me she

said you know what eric

i’m not so sure that i can make it to

the top of this mountain

then i shared a secret with her you know

what

i don’t know if i have confidence in my

ability either

it was nice to know i wasn’t the only

one as we pressed on

her quiet dedication was inspiring to me

and kept me going along the way

upon the summit day i got about two

hours of sleep and we began the final

push to the top

we hiked for hours and we braked along

the way

it’s amazing in these kinds of

conditions how fast your body can change

you go from being hot to being freezing

in an instant

you got really good at putting coat on

to shield yourself from the elements

we traveled on step

step breathe step

step breathe pole

pole 13 climbers

embarked that day and when we were less

than 1 000 feet from the

from the top the team received a message

one of the climbers my introverted

friend

decided to turn around my mind flashed

back

to that fateful day on long’s peak

feeling of despair

and disappointment entered my body

i felt so bad for her i couldn’t imagine

what she felt right now

the group pressed on step by step

inch by inch getting closer and closer

to our goal

until finally after days of climbing

i would stand together with a team

and with friends on one of the highest

places

in the entire world

again that feeling i felt like i could

accomplish anything

i felt like there was nothing that i

couldn’t do but this time

i had 12 other people to share it with

who all felt

exactly the same way i did

i congratulated everybody and then i

went over to

survey the alien landscape that is

africa’s ceiling

my mind started to wander i thought

about my friend again

i wonder what she was feeling i wish she

was here to experience this with us

when we got back down to high camp

she was in the main tent i went over to

her

to express my sorrow but

amazingly enough she had a huge smile on

her face

she actually looked more chipper than

i’d seen her the entire trip

she looked at me and she said i didn’t

need the summit

i came here and i accomplished what i

needed to do

think about it she made it within a

thousand feet of the highest peak in the

world

how many people can say that she showed

more bravery

more courage and more appreciation for

the entire experience than any of us

and that’s when she taught me the most

important about lesson about mountain

climbing

you see when i started climbing and even

when i landed in tanzania it was all

about the peaks

even though that is a great part of it

that’s no longer my favorite part

it’s the journey to the top that’s

actually the best part

the beauty of beholding nature

the people that you encounter on the

trail and the people you choose to climb

with

it’s about sharing pieces of your life

and tents and on trails

and it’s about watching others beholding

the beauty of the mountains

in fact i met a friend who’s just a

little crazy in the head

just like me who also wants to

accomplish the seven summits

i look forward to standing in amazing

places with a friend and a familiar face

i received a card from my co-workers

before i embarked on kilimanjaro

in it there’s lots of words of

inspiration

and a lot of things that encouraged me

to get to the top

but there’s one quote in here in

particular that i carry with me on every

trail

i really couldn’t put into words when

people ask me like why do you do it

but when i read this quote it just kind

of clicked

and it made sense a ship and port is

safe

but that’s not what ships are built for

by grace hopper

i’m a ship that needs to be at sea i’m a

ship

that needs to answer the call of the

wild

and go after the pioneering spirit and

have a sneaking suspicion

that people in this room are also not

meant for the harbor either

i want to encourage those of you to plan

a trip to an amazing summit

for some of you yeah that might be a

mountain for others that might be

starting a business

taking a mission trip going on an

amazing trip to somewhere exotic

going a sabbatical running for office

or starting a family envision yourself

succeeding and everything that you need

to do all the steps you need to take

the gear you’ll need the guides that

will help you along the way to keep you

on the pathway

and yes you will need to prepare

yourself

to fail some people spend their whole

lives

saying someday i hope to or i always

have dreamt of

if i’d waited till i was really ready to

climb my first mountain

i wouldn’t have a single one to talk to

you about today

so make a plan take the first step

and embark on your journey but make

haste my friends

don’t wait too long because if you do

you run the risk of leaving this world

with a head full of plans

and no scars to show for it thank you

you