If you’ve listened or followed this podcast before you know we talk a lot about “the why”. Why do we climb? Why do we choose to voluntarily put ourselves in a position to struggle in order to climb the vertical feet of mountain Everest.
Every single participant who presses that red registration button on the 29029 website is there for a different reason. We have participants show up with perfect clarity as to what they are seeking to find and accomplish through their 29029 experience. Others seem to find their why as they train over 20 weeks. Sometimes the realization of “why” develops as the 36 hour clock begins to count down on that Friday morning.
We see these “whys” all over the mountain. They are written on the back of t-shirts and pinned to hydration packs. They are carried in pockets or opened from envelopes. We’ve seen them written on arms and tucked tightly into hearts.
29029 isn’t about climbing a mountain over and over again, it’s all about why you are choosing to be there.
Mike Parnell had a why! He was going to climb 29029 vertical feet at Stratton Mountain in Vermont October 2021 and he was going to do it in the name of his young daughter Ryan who suffers from a rare autoimmune disease.
Though he raised over 100,000 dollars in Ryan’s honor, Mike didn’t really find out why he was on the mountain until after he left.
A chance meeting and an off-handed comment at the awards dinner would propel Mike through a door he never knew existed.....nor did he realize that 29029 was the key.
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