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Ho Tsai

I Don't Want to Act Old

By 29029 Everesting

November 24^th, 2023

As I lined up at the start line for 29029 Sun Valley, I did so as the oldest woman on the mountain.

I was 67 and three-quarters years old - I say three-quarters because every day counts when you start to get up there.

I wasn’t nervous, I was confident.

But more importantly, I was excited.

This was the kind of crazy and fun event I wanted in my life.

But first, a bit of background about how I got there.

I’ve always loved to jump into the unknown. I came to the United States straight out of college, starting out in Nashville. At first, I thought maybe Nashville people spoke a language different than English, because I couldn’t understand the accent!

It was a shock - culturally and more - that was my first summit in life.

Fast-forward many years, and when I turned 40, I got convinced by a friend to run a 5k.

Fast-forward a bit more, and when I turned 50, I joined a running group and started running more consistently and being active.

I was naturally fast in shorter distances and gravitated towards more of the short events.

Like every runner, I figured I should do a marathon, but the training didn’t go well. I was plagued with minor injuries and setbacks that kept me from ever being able to run a marathon how I wanted to.

A running coach and doctor both told me the same thing - I needed to spend time in the gym to avoid the injuries. I needed strength training.

I don’t know why, but I hated the idea of going to the gym. The machines intimidated me, and being indoors not moving around much just didn’t seem interesting.

So instead, I gave up on the idea of a marathon.

I live by the beach, but I don’t really like water. It doesn’t speak to me.

But mountains… now that’s what I love! Everything feels alive there.

Living in Florida, where the highest point is probably the 12 feet of elevation on the bridge by my house, I don’t get to the mountains often.

But whenever I do, I fall in love all over again.

It was that love for the mountains and my limited belief in my endurance abilities that acted as the calling when I stumbled across 29029.

Immediately, I felt drawn in.

The craziness.

The mountains.

The scenery.

The community.

It all looked so amazing!

I want to do that.

But I wasn’t sure if I actually could. Not at my age, and not with my lack of endurance abilities.

Yet the call was too great to ignore.

If I can’t run a marathon, maybe I can prove my endurance this way instead.

When registration opened, I entered.

When the training program was released, I was overwhelmed.

It wasn’t the time commitment, hiking or running that intimidated me - it was the strength workouts. There were a lot of them, and I didn’t know what they all meant.

What are all these different workouts? How do I even do them? What does DB stand for?

I reached out to the Coaches for help, because it definitely felt like I’d need to do everything I could if I wanted to be able to climb the mountain at my age, even if that meant doing the kind of strength workouts that I’d always shied away from.

I was still working full-time, so I would set my alarm for 4 am to get in the strength workout, and then at 5 am I’d go to the gym and hike on the incline treadmill.

At 6 am, I’d walk my dog, and then start my day.

On top of all that, I still sang in a choir, which is more physically demanding than you’d think.

I’m 67… most my age would be sitting on the couch and watching TV!

But instead, I was lifting weights, going on hikes, and singing in choir.

Growing old is inevitable, but you don’t have to act old.

Because I was so nervous about the event, I decided I would do three mock runs of the event on my own.

I did the math, and on two separate occasions, set my incline treadmill to a grade that was close to the average of Sun Valley, and then started climbing on a Friday morning, breaking overnight, and continuing the next morning until I had climbed 29,029 vertical feet.

Working hard was just in my DNA, so it didn’t feel like a huge challenge to motivate myself to try to climb virtually.

I just decided, and then did it.

A treadmill isn’t the real thing, however, so I asked my husband to go on a trip with me to Georgia, where I climbed Brasstown Bald, the highest point in the state. Over the course of 36 hours, I climbed, while my husband, the steadfast supporter, shuttled me back down to the bottom.

With three virtual Everests under my belt, all that was left was to climb the real thing.

I was off to Sun Valley!

I had three goals as I lined up at the start line:

10 ascents - knowing that I would keep pushing to surpass 10 if possibe, I set what I thought was a reasonable goal, that way I wouldn’t be disappointed if I was injured, got sick, or suffered any other unlucky setback.
Don’t get injured - at my age, this was a big fear of mine. I had struggled with achilles pain in the past during longer runs, and I was worried that could be an issue on the mountain too.
Be a quirky, exciting, fun Grandma - I have a Granddaughter, and I wanted to make sure she never saw me as just another boring old lady!

Everybody has a plan at the start of 29029.

Mine was broken down into roughly 4 ascent increments.

I wanted to complete 4 before breaking for lunch, 4 before breaking for dinner, 3-4 overnight, and then 3-4 the following day to finish.

Like most plans for the unknown, it didn’t work out that way.

The most defining feature of the ascent in Sun Valley - and what I dreaded every lap - was The Wall.

It was so steep, so slippery, and so hard to climb safely.

Every time, I worried I might slip, fall backward, and injure myself to the point that I’d have to quit.

It was so nerve-wracking climbing up that segment, but once it was done, I could go back to smiling and singing, keeping positive to get me up the slopes.

By lunchtime, I was right on track, but like I said, there’s no such thing as a perfect plan.

In the afternoon, a storm rolled in, shutting down the mountain and gondola for over 2.5 hours!

Nobody was able to climb. My plan of 4 ascents before dinner was out the window…

Eventually, the storm cleared and the mountain reopened. With the ground soggy and slippery from the storm, I started again.

As the evening wrapped up, I was 2 short of my plan, but that was okay. I knew I just had to keep climbing.

On the 9th ascent, I started climbing the dreaded Wall yet again.

I slipped and fell caused partly by the steep, slippery, uneven ground, and partly by the fatigue that had started to set in.

It scared me more than anything, but thankfully Coach Ashley was there to help get me untangled from my hiking poles.

I told her about my faltering balance, she suggested I take a proper rest and try to get some sleep.

I could barely sleep, so after a few hours of trying to rest - at 6 am - I decided to start climbing again.

I felt really good! The little rest I was able to get had done wonders for me. That 10th ascent was great! I had checked off my ascent goal, but there was still plenty of time to keep climbing.

The rested energized feeling during ascent 10 didn't last into the next.

My body was tired.

I was tired.

I slowed down.

But I kept climbing.

The 12th ascent was the first time I felt like I was actually in trouble. I was wobbly - the fatigue had come back and I was having a very hard time keeping my balance, even worse than the night before.

Nervously, I thought about the Wall, where I had fallen earlier.

I called Coach Ashley, nervous about being able to keep my footing. She wouldn’t be able to get there in time, but she told me to ask a volunteer or another coach nearby for help if I needed it.

I looked up nervously as I approached the Wall. I was terrified I'd end up tumbling down the mountain.

I saw Coach Wooch behind me, and asked him if he could stay behind me on the Wall, just in case anything happened.

He obliged, and then even climbed the entire next ascent with me, pushing me to go a bit faster.

Before I knew it, the day had wore on, and I was putting on my Red Bib in the afternoon.

I had set my sights for 10, and now I was starting my 15th!

I was wearing a red visor on my head when Coach Ashley saw me. She came over and pulled my visor off.

“You don’t need this. Let’s go get you the Red Hat!”

As we neared the summit, I stopped to call my family. It was emotional, and I broke down into tears as I talked with my daughter.

I was almost there.

When the finish line finally came into view, I got a burst of energy.

I started running!

I guess you could only barely call it running - I was so tired and sore - but it was faster than walking at least.

To celebrate, I chose to do a yoga pose that was special to me in that moment: Hanuman.

The legend behind that pose was a monkey king who jumped over a mountain to rescue a friend. It was a story of determination. A story of the unknown.

I had jumped into the unknown when I signed up.

I had shown determination - even more than I thought I could - in finishing.

It was a fitting victory celebration.

Even though the accomplishment was mine, I didn’t do it alone.

It took a village.

From the support of friends & family back home, the dedication of my husband in helping shuttle me during my training, the volunteers on the mountain, participants who helped me through the tougher moments, the Coaches who were always nearby willing to help, and so many other people, I know that I would not have been able to pull on that Red Hat without all of them.

I was lucky.

I Everested in Sun Valley.

I don’t feel like I have much of a story. I didn’t hike for a charity. I didn’t hike for loved ones. I didn’t hike to get off the couch and start a journey of fitness. I didn’t hike to come back from a setback.

The craziness just talked to me from the beginning, and I went on an unexpected transformation during the journey.

I guess I am old, but I don’t want to act old.

I still want to be physically and mentally active.

I want to leave a legacy for my family - my granddaughter was born about a year ago, and I want her to remember me as somebody who was never boring. I want to be known as a stubborn lady who never gave up and always said yes to adventurous things.