Lucy Cardenas

Becoming A Different Kind of Lucy

By 29029 Everesting

November 29^th, 2024

In 2023, my life was your typical in-the-city kind of life. I’d go to the gym, do some yoga, walk around my neighborhood… You know, usual city stuff.

I own a few Mexican restaurants in Salt Lake City where two of our staff had discovered 29029. They asked for sponsorship from the restaurant, and when they explained what it was, it mostly went over my head.

“Well, we’re going to climb Snowbasin 13 times. It’s 2.3 miles per ascent and you get 36 hours to finish.”

I thought to myself, '2.3 miles… that doesn’t sound so bad.’

What came out of my mouth next surprised me as much as it surprised our staff: “Sign me up too!”

Life has not been the same since.

It was very out of character for me to jump at something so spontaneously. I don’t know what it was - maybe it was the pull to try something like climbing a mountain, maybe it was about taking the time to bond with Mike and Kimberly, my two staff who would also be climbing, maybe it was something else entirely - or perhaps it was a mix of all of those things.

Believe it or not, I had never been to Snowbasin - like I said, typical in-the-city kind of life - and when I arrived I was taken aback at how beautiful the Wasatch Mountains were.

Next thing I knew, it was Friday morning.

Here I was, 64 years old, about to climb a mountain.

I had my doubts of course - who doesn’t when you’re climbing a mountain - but by the time the first day was done, I had climbed four times. Four very challenging climbs up Snowbasin. It turned out that 2.3 miles could actually be pretty tough!

Since I’d gone in blind, I didn’t have a goal, which made stopping at night the default choice. I’d never hiked at night before - I didn’t feel like I was strong enough, and I was scared I might fall and hurt myself.

I went to sleep, and it kind of seemed like I was done. 4 ascents was by far the highest and furthest I’d ever hiked!

Then I woke up on Saturday morning and realized something. Kimberly and Mike were still out on the mountain. Was I really going to just hang out and read a book in the tent all day?

Or was I going to keep climbing?

Of course, I chose the latter and started climbing again. When the 36 hours were up, I had climbed Snowbasin 7 times - even further, higher, and longer than I’d ever hiked before!

The experience hooked me. I had a drive to see how much higher I could climb.

I’d never been to Sun Valley before, so I decided that would be my mountain in 2024.

That’s right - I was going back!

I was better prepared this time.

But the mountain was still hard.

The Wall - the infamous Wall - really was killer. Every single time I’d completed an ascent I was in awe of having finished.

As the sun started to set, I realized something - I was going to do my first night hike. No excuses this time!

I was nervous, but something inside me said this was my moment to push past the fear. As I climbed, the world around me was quiet, dark, and somehow, more magical.

At the summit, I felt like I'd conquered more than just the mountain - I'd conquered a piece of myself!

And then I threw up…

I don’t know what happened to me, but I was overwhelmed with nausea.

I went to bed, hoping to sleep it off, setting my alarm for early in the morning to continue climbing.

After 36 hours, I stood at the base of the mountain, having gotten off the gondola for the last time, and looked back up towards the summit.

"I just climbed you. 9 times I made it to the top... and I'm happy!"

Then, a long pause.

“But I have to do it again.”

I wanted to finish.

It was back to Snowbasin a few months later.

Now, I’ve probably glossed over it, but Mike and Kimberly were at my previous two 29029 events, so of course they were here for this one too.

And this time, more than usual, it felt like Mike was really invested in getting me to the finish.

The first few ascents took a lot longer than I was expecting - and Mike was at my and Kimberly’s side.

Eventually, he continued on to claim his 3rd Red Hat, while I continued hiking at my own pace.

This time, I had ascended 8 times. An improvement from 2023, and I was proud of it!

I’m not an endurance athlete, so I was happy.

But of course, I still wanted to finish.

I was proud of what I accomplished - proud of how high I’d climbed, and proud of how hard I’d pushed myself.

But I balance that with a desire to finish.

I'm happy with how hard I've tried and what I've achieved, but I'm not content to rest on that.

On every gondola ride I’ve taken down from a summit, I’ve filmed a short video to send to my husband.

This last time, in Snowbasin, one of those videos stands out. I looked into the camera and said, “You know what honey? There’s a different Lucy on this mountain.”