What if the most extraordinary places in life aren't reserved for extraordinary people? Chris Codding is a husband, dad, commercial lender, and the kind of unassuming guy you could know for years without realizing where he's been. He has stood on remote ridges near 20,000 feet, heard snow and ice roar like a freight train, and built entire seasons of his life around mountains most of us only see in magazines. How does a kid from Oklahoma, whose curiosity began in a high-school library, end up in places like the Andes and Denali?
This Crew Conversation follows that thread—from a photograph in an old National Geographic to a goal that became so consuming Chris could barely imagine life beyond it. He never tells these stories like a hero, which may be exactly why they connect. Beneath the mountains is a question for anyone whose life looks responsible, full, and perhaps a little too mapped out: How far might your life go if you took seriously the thing that makes you feel alive? In this episode, you'll hear:
• The unexpected connection between a National Geographic, losing 45 pounds, and joining a high-school cross-country team
• A love story involving J.Crew, a red peacoat, Panera, and a quickly closing "weather window"
• What it feels like when a massive snow-and-ice fall roars beside you on a ridge just below 20,000 feet
• Why Denali became so consuming that Chris didn't plan his life beyond the expedition—and the question waiting on the other side
• A different way to think about being "exceedingly average" in a world obsessed with being the best
• Encouragement to find the pursuit that sharpens your axe and sends you back to your work, family, and ordinary life more awake
GET THE SUNDAY TRAIL NOTES. For behind-the-scenes thoughts, new episodes, book updates, and ideas Chad is still working through, sign up for the free Sunday Trail Notes:
https://lifeoffthemapshow.com
FOLLOW LIFE OFF THE MAP
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6lIQPfjw98o3y8Giu13Bw8
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-off-the-map/id1864342091
RELATED EPISODES
• Episode 31 — Have You Outgrown What You're Chasing? Jeeps, Mountain Pickles, and 500 Feet from the Top
• Episode 30 — What If You're Not Done Yet? Hope Pass, the Leadville 100 Trail & a Few Questionable Decisions
• Episode 27 — What Most Men Are Missing: A Story from the Blue River & Feeling Like Yourself Again