Snowbasin #2: Day 1

Every Amazing Thing...

By 29029 Everesting

August 27^th, 2022

Fear is the physical manifestation of where our comfort zone ends

You can sense a lot of fear at the start line, but that’s a good thing.

That’s because there are two types of fear: the primal, fear-for-your-life fear, and intellectual overthinking-worrying-about-the-future fear. The fear on the start line is the latter.

The other side of fear

What’s on the other side of the fear you feel? Opportunity. Growth. Possibility.

Think back to every amazing thing that’s happened to you - things like proposing to your significant other, asking for that promotion at work, or deciding to have kids.

Every amazing thing that you’ve made happen in your life involved a little bit of fear.

Conquering the mountain at 29029 is another one of those amazing things. All you have to do to get there is conquer that fear. Get climbing!

Never give your pain a voice

Of course your legs hurt. Of course you’re tired. Of course you’re hot. Of course you want to rest.

Push through. You’ll come out the otherside.

The only answer to how are you feeling is outstanding.

Do not say anything negative out loud. Do not give your pain a voice, because as soon as you do, you give that pain power over you.

Now how are you doing?

Outstanding.

You are never alone

When you set foot on the mountain, you joined a community of thousands of others just like you. On this mountain alone, over 250 fellow participants are here, willing you towards the summit.

Lean into this community when you need it, and give back when you have the energy.

This is why you can be strong. This is why they can be strong. Achieving greatness is inevitable when you’re part of a community like this.

How many more?

The answer is one.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve climbed two ascents or ten. The answer to how many more to go is always one. That’s because the goal feels achievable when broken down into small steps.

Climbing ten more times feels daunting. Climbing one more feels doable.

Break it down even smaller if needed. Set the goal to make it to the next aid station. Or the next bend. Or the next tree. The smaller the goal, the more attainable it is. And once you reach it, set your sights on the next one.

That’s how you’ll reach Everest.

Who are you going to be on Sunday?

We learn who we truly are when we deal with struggle. The mountain is a struggle. Sore legs are a struggle. The heat is a struggle.

But you’re the kind of person that loves the struggle. That’s what you signed up for.

Don’t negotiate your goal. When all this craziness is done - when you wake up Sunday morning, are you going to be the person that emptied their tank on the mountain, or are you going to be the person that gave in too early?