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29029 Stratton Recap

The Hero's Journey

By 29029 Everesting

October 25^th, 2023

You’re probably familiar with the hero’s journey.

From ancient fables to modern Hollywood, the hero’s journey is a timeless narrative template, involving distinct phases:

A Call to Adventure
Crossing the Threshold
The Road of Trials
The Battle
The Reward
The Road Back

262 brave souls on the startline for 29029 Stratton were about to learn that not only was the hero’s journey a great template for a fictional tale, but also a template for an outstanding life change.

At 29029, you were on the hero's journey.

Call to Adventure

There were 262 heroes' journeys about to be written on the slopes of Stratton.

262 individuals had answered the call of adventure by registering for 29029, each with a reason as unique as it was impactful.

Nervously toeing the line, you had answered the call to adventure.

By registering for 29029, you had begun the hero’s journey.

And now it was time to embark.

Gretchen Evans was a 26-year Army Veteran when she answered the call to adventure. Severely injured by an IED in Afghanistan, Gretchen was ready to take her narrative into her own hands and do a little good for the world while seizing the adventure of 29029.

As the leader of Team Unbroken, Gretchen was at 29029 to show that, despite injuries from service, a Veteran can still do even more amazing things.

She was there to serve - and to raise the profile of her efforts to support other post-service Veterans.

Gretchen was on a Hero’s Journey, and she had a bulletproof why to propel her.

Crossing the Threshold

The adventure doesn’t truly begin until the first step.

That first step, under the cover of darkness, crossed the threshold from one realm to another - from your life before 29029, and you’re life after.

Crossing that threshold meant going from a life with preconceived self-imposed limitations to a life where you believed in being able to accomplish so much more.

But to truly experience that transformative change, there was still a mountain to climb.

With each determined footstep, you not only inched upward on the mountain, but also crossed that symbolic boundary.

A new you was forming as you climbed the slopes.

Joseph Detzel was diagnosed with a foot injury not long before it came time to travel to Vermont for the start of 29029.

He had the opportunity to quit - an injury was certainly a suitable excuse to at least postpone an Everesting attempt until another time.

But Joseph didn't take that opportunity to postpone. He was going to tackle the slopes of Stratton, injury and all.

Joseph crossed the threshold, making his next step along his hero’s journey.

The Road of Trials

Every hero has to slay a dragon.

At 29029, the mountain was the dragon.

With Mother Nature as her aid, the mountain would not go down without a fight.

To go blow for blow with the mountain meant dealing with some of the most challenging weather conditions in 29029 history.

Nobody could have foreseen the trials that nature had set. As the sky darkened and rain began, it was clear this was not just a climb.

This was an epic test of your character.

Sylvia McKaige had been on this journey before.

It had taken her five times at 29029 before she was finally able to vanquish the mountain and earn a Red Hat.

Yet, even after achieving something so remarkable, Sylvia felt the irresistible draw to return to yet another 29029 mountain. Little did she know that this attempt might just be the most challenging one yet.

Mother nature poured down on the slopes of Stratton, turning the mountain into a soggy, treacherous route.

Yet there was Sylvia, from her hot, humid home of Singapore, going blow for blow with it.

Through the rain, through the cold, through the fog, the mountain kept testing Sylvia, and Sylvia kept persevering. Even though she had vanquished a mountain before, she was back to test herself again, on another road of tribulations.

The Battle

The clouds had settled onto the mountain pretty early in your Everesting endeavor.

Vision obscured. Rain falling. Ground slipping.

These were the blows that you had to take to keep climbing the mountain.

And that's exactly what you did.

Where there was once a trail, there was now a creek. Where there was once a creek, there was now a river. The amount of rain falling from the sky was near-biblical.

You went toe to toe with the mountain. You weren’t stopping.

You kept climbing.

In the eye of the storm - in the heat of the battle - you still found moments of profound silence where you had to face an inner battle too.

A tired body and tired mind urged you to quit.

But you didn’t.

You kept climbing.

Rishan Barat was another participant in the midst of the battle with the mountain's treacherous weather.

One step at a time, he fought to keep climbing.

He pushed through the rain, through the mud, and through the steep, slippery route to the summit until, in the early hours of Saturday, it appeared as if the mountain had landed the final glancing blow.

Nearly broken and defeated, Rishan retreated to the recovery room.

This could have been the end, but that’s not how the hero’s journey goes.

A hero never quits.

With time ticking down to the end of the event, a figure emerged from the fog.

It was Rishan.

Sore, hurt, uncomfortable, cold, and wet, he climbed once more, having the final say and landing the final blow in his mano-a-mano against the mountain.

The Reward

The harder the challenge, the larger the reward.

Climb a mountain.

17 times.

The equivalent of Everest.

Hard enough.

Add in wind, torrential rain, and ankle-deep mud?

Now you’ve got a truly monumental challenge.

To leave it all out there - to empty your tank - in the midst of a monumental challenge is no small feat.

The real trophy wasn’t something you could hold - or something you could wear on your head - but a transformation felt deep within.

The Red Hat is merely a symbol of that victory, but the reward comes whether you achieved Everest or not.

The reward is a newfound belief in yourself. Newfound strength, drive, and motivation that didn’t exist before.

After conquering one of the most epic 36 hours of 29029 ever, that reward is yours.

Gavin Milnar was at Stratton for his third 29029 - his third attempt at finally claiming his Red Hat.

He had trained harder than ever before and came to the slopes of Stratton with fire in his eyes.

Summit or bust.

Like a man possessed, Gavin climbed through the most challenging conditions he had ever experienced, yet with resolve and mental fortitude, kept chipping away.

I don’t get cold. I can keep climbing. I don’t need to stop to change out of wet layers.

Gavin climbed with focus, and as ascent after ascent ticked away, he finally received the ultimate reward - something he had been working towards for years: the Red Hat.

Gavin vanquished the mountain, and he did it wearing Red.

The Road Back

Rain continued to fall as the sun set, marking the end of 29029 Stratton.

Your hero’s journey was nearly concluded - all that was left was the conclusion: the road back to the regular world.

While it’s too early to tell what that return will look like, one thing is certain: you won’t be the same.

The you that existed before 29029 is irreversibly changed. With newfound wisdom, belief, and strength, you re-enter your world not as it was, but as a hero reborn.

After all, the hero’s journey is not just a template of storytelling - it’s a reflection of life itself. Each of us faces our own mountains, our own dragons, and our own battles.