Doug & Paula VanTassell

The 7-person Family Reunion

By 29029 Everesting

February 18^th, 2022

Paula VanTassell: I first heard about 29029 from the Rich Roll podcast. Jesse Itzler was a guest, and as I listened to it, I remember turning to Doug and saying, “This would be so awesome… but I’m afraid of heights, so I don’t think I could do it. The gondola would be too scary!”

But something about it stuck - the event sounded so cool, and Jesse was such an inspiring, interesting, and motivating person. It might be worth getting over my fear of heights for!

I used to run a lot, but had to stop because of injuries - there was a hole in my life - a missing sense of tackling something big and interesting. I thought 29029 could be that perfect missing piece.

And I thought we could do it as a family.

Doug VanTassell: We have 3 older kids, spread across the country - two of them were engaged at the time (both now married) - so there were 7 of us at the event: us, our 3 kids; Chip, Casey and Paige, and the two fiances, Kristin and Andre.

We’re from North Carolina. Chip and Kristin live in Texas, Casey and Andre in Florida, and Paige in California. Being so far apart, we don't get to see each other as much as we want, so 29029 was like a family reunion.

Although our kids may have preferred a beach house or something like that… Climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest wasn’t on their radar when we told them we wanted to get together for something!

Paula: Unfortunately, pain from a previously torn meniscus returned soon after my training began. My orthopedist told me that without surgery, there would be no way I could climb the mountain!

He added that, if I schedule surgery as soon as possible, I had a small chance. I was devastated!

I logged onto the 29029 Facebook group looking for advice. Several people replied, but one in particular - a Sports Physiotherapist from New Jersey - helped me find my path forward.

She helped me make the decision to have surgery, and we communicated back and forth throughout the rest of my journey! She guided me, giving suggestions with recovery and training. She was an angel - a perfect stranger willing to help all because of our shared goal of conquering a 29029 mountain.

After my surgery, and obligatory recovery time, I had missed so much of Coach Brent's training plan. I didn't even know if I'd be able to climb the mountain a single time.

But that wouldn't stop me from trying!

I set my own personal Everest as climbing once - if I could do that, it would be a monumental achievement for me.

Before I knew it, the day was upon us. Our family had gathered and it was time to climb the mountain.

Doug: There’s good and bad when you’re doing it as a family. If I was only doing it for me - if my only goal was to succeed - I wouldn’t bring anybody else with me.

It’s too hard not to get caught up in how everyone else is doing - it's just parental instinct.

While some of us Everested - making all 13 ascents - others did not.

I wanted everyone to be happy with their result - I spent a lot of time worrying about them all. But whenever I saw Chip, Kristin, Casey, Andre, or Paige, they all said the same thing: "Keep climbing Dad, you can do this."

Paula: I got to 10.

Not too bad for somebody who went in saying a single ascent would be my personal Everest.

After #10, I had time to keep going.

But I chose to quit.

Usually, quitting is a bad thing. Usually, somebody who quits might talk about their regrets, but sometimes, even if it’s rare, quitting is the right thing to do. This was one of those rare times.

I did not want to go home injured - after so much time off for my meniscus surgery and recovery, I was itching to go back to everyday life and everyday activities.

Over the years, I've learned to stay in tune with my body, and I knew I pushed on, I wouldn't be going home injury-free.

As I made the decision to be finished after 10 ascents - the equivalent of Aconcagua, I thought back to all the uncertainty leading into my very first ascent.

Hitting the summit that first time was easily the biggest moment on the mountain for me, and I was proud of it! But I hadn't stopped there - I summited 10 times, something I hadn't even thought possible when I first set out.

And on top of that, I rode the gondola down 10 times - another fear I'd overcome!

I was thrilled with my accomplishments, and even more thrilled at being with my family during their own accomplishments.

I was proud of myself.

I was proud of my family.

Paula: When the dust had settled on the slopes, I was so proud of our entire family.

Some of us completed it and some of us didn’t.

But it didn’t matter! We all did something!

And most importantly, it was great to spend time together as a family, bonding through a shared challenge. We’ll always have the memories of 29029 as something amazing and epic that we did together.

Doug: It’s hard to pick out a highlight from the event - there were so many - but one special moment came from how invested my son became in watching me finish. It was pretty cool - everytime I came down from another ascent, he’d be there cheering me on.

And when I started my final ascent, he rounded up our entire family, making sure they were all at the top waiting for me to summit and pull on that Red Hat. It was wonderful having all 7 of us together at the top of the mountain for that magical moment.

I was so proud of all of us! Whether finishing 3, or all 13, we all achieved something pretty remarkable.

Paula: All 7 of us will, for the rest of our lives, remember that we accomplished something pretty cool!

For our family to come together in one location is pretty rare. To do it while trying to Everest a mountain is even rarer. It's something we could only experience at 29029.