While I am in Nepal preparing for my epic Mt Everest & Lhotse climb, here's a "Rewind" replay of one of my most popular episodes with Ed Viesturs.
Climbing mountains is an incredible feat that takes incredible people with incredible goals. Ed Viesturs is one of these people who has climbed fourteen 8,000 meter peaks. It took him 18 years and 21 attempts to get to all those summits.
From all these climbs he learned a lot of things from guys who were above him, and these guys learned from guys above them. One of these life lesson essential to reaching impossible goals is tempering ambition. It’s an 8,000 meter climb, but when you get to the 5,000 mark you need to think where motivation has taken you so far. At this point you should ask if it’s okay to turn around and try again when it’s safer. Ed shares his wisdom and experiences as a Mount Rainier guide who breaks down goals to keep moving and get to the top.
Ed is a guy who I've climbed with years ago but he's the only American to have climbed all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks. Those are peaks that are over 26,000 feet. He did so without any oxygen. Everybody that climbs the Everest has tanks on their bank. They've got the big face mask. That's certainly what I will have when I climb up that mountain.
He's done it. It's his own will, power and strength that gets him up and down these mountains. Obviously, he's got a very strong lung capacity. I had such a blast talking with Ed. We go back, we talk about his earlier days cutting his teeth with great mentors like Lou Whittaker on Mount Rainier, teaching him the ropes on how to climb safely.
Then we get into when he was filming the IMAX piece which, unfortunately, coincided with the same time that the whole Into Thin Air, the Everest tragedy happened in 1996. It actually turned into a rescue mission for him. He tried to go up and get Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, two of his buddies who ultimately did not make it. It was a very emotional moment of talking about when that happened. They did decide to press on a couple of weeks later to finish the IMAX piece and those guys are still sitting up there. To pass your buddies and have that moment, it's pretty emotional. We talked about his choices about no shortcuts to the top, about why he's still standing and where he's at today.
Ed is a phenomenal guy and full of inspiration. He has life in the right frame mindset of how to go about it and he shares that with many corporations throughout America.
EP 273: Adrian Ballinger - Guiding and summiting big mountains all over the world!
EP 272: Kelly Lynn Adams. Making a pivot in 2023 and becoming the best version of yourself.
EP 271: Kenton Cool. The super hero who climbed MT EVEREST 14 times with no end in sight.
EP 270: Shane Jacobson, CEO of the V Foundation on kicking cancer and the impact Jim Valvano had
Yuriy Boyechko, CEO and President of Hope for Ukraine
Shawn Richardson is living her best life and turning her passion into a career.
Nancy Svendson on the life of Pasang, the 1st Nepalese woman to climb Mount Everest
U Conn Head Coach Jim Mora on becoming relevant again
Nate Boyer: From GREEN BERET to Hollywood.
Tom French: 1st Attempt of EVEREST failed. 2nd time was a charm.
Mike Tomczak: 16 years in the NFL and still accelerating in life. One of the good guys.
Pete Nordstrom on running Nordstrom, navigating the pandemic & family.
Joe Connor out to change the world through soccer
Jesse Bradley, from professional soccer player to almost dying from an allergic reaction to a malaria shot, Jesse talks about his redemption
Kristin Harila: Eleven 8 Meter Peaks down, 3 to go towards setting a world record
Don Munson: the voice of the Clemson Tiger tells how he rose to the top of the broadcasting game
Tom House: known as the guru of quarterbacks who has mentored Tom Brady, Drew Brees and many others.
EP 256 Miles Burris: transitioning from the NFL to the acting world and thriving..
EP 255 Matt Warren: Singer / Songwriter with multiple hits had to go through rehab to find his greatness.
EP 254 Terry Ahola Made the US SKI TEAM from 82'-84 but got injured which derailed his Olympic dream but he picked himself up and has transi
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