The 29029 Podcast

The boxer Mike Tyson once said “Everyone has a plan until you’re punched in the mouth”

This feels like a truth we all understand; that things in this life are not going to unfold the way we want or expect them to.  They never have and they never will. Yet, we go around creating our perfect plans and end up shocked and disappointed when our plans fail. 

On the mountain we know how many laps we need to do before lunch, what we will wear to start and the intervals at which we will change our socks and eat our meals.  We know how long we will sleep and ride the gondola.  We plan for showers and slow downs overnight.  We’ve seen spreadsheets and laminated cards laying out minute-by-minute all 36 hours.  Then the airhorn sounds and we start climbing.

Noah Pines was a 3x alumni trying his hand at the newest mountain in the 29029 fleet - Jackson Hole 2023.  He had 3 hats on his shelf back home and now he wore a black bib on his back.  At 6am on Friday morning he began to work his plan to pull on his 4th red hat.  

No one ever plans to get punched in the mouth……except for if you are MIke Tyson.....Noah sure didn’t until it happened.  

What do you do when nothing goes to plan? 

What happens when you are faced with a choice that you never imagined you would face on the mountain?

What of your goals? 

Your success? 

What if you can’t reach Everest?  

No one likes to talk about it, but we are going to talk about it in this episode.

Sometimes the world feels so big and overwhelming.  There are so many people in so many places with so many opinions, values and path.

......But something happens on the mountains and the trails, on long bike rides and over monotonous hours of endurance training.

There’s something within endurance sport that acts like a binding agent reaching across borders and cultures, filling in the gaps of humanity until we all seem to be a bit more similar…….because aren’t we all simply people, who strive to be the best versions of ourselves?

Hannah Waters first climbed 29029 at Whistler in 2022.  She showed up alone and left with a red hat and 4 new friends.  Those friends met again on the mountain at Jackson Hole in 2023. 

Hannah had flown across the world to Jackson Hole from her home in Saudi Arabia, the flight taking almost as long as it would take her to earn her second red hat. 

Four friends grew to 5 on that mountain and Hannah added another dot to her global map showing how sport connected her no matter where she traveled.  

There is no doubt when you watch Hannah that she is an athlete. Endurance sport is as big a part of her life as her career. She doesn’t train to win.  She isn’t gunning for the top spot (though you will most likely find her there). 

Hannah loves the process of endurance sport. She loves the community.  Sport makes her feel like she’s a part of something no matter where in the world her life has taken her……and it’s taken her on quite a ride! 

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The mountain has a way of checking our soul, of challenging us on multiple levels all at once.  

We met David Allen at Snowbasin this year.  He was strong, fit and capable, a gym owner, former athlete and powerlifter..  He always smiled when we referred to him as “Dr. David Allen” when he would return to the base of the mountain to brand his board.  (Sidenote: David’s not a “doctor” but his name sure made us think of one from a daytime soap opera.)

At the Ascent Board, we see participants multiple times.  At Snowbasin, participants come through the base as many as 13 times in their quest to conquer Everest.  

We didn’t think much of “Dr. David Allen” other than a guy with a great smile going home with a red hat on his head……until Colleen received a DM from him the following Tuesday……David wanted to connect with Coach Derek who had helped him on the mountain.  Colleen asked him how he was feeling and made a “Doctor” joke……..His response took her back….He said……"My body feels fine, I’m a little sore but not any more than a normal workout.  Emotionally I’m completely wrecked.”

David had been invited by a friend to take on what he thought would be the physical challenge of climbing 29,029 feet.  He was shocked to find himself emotionally torn open by the experience and really wasn’t prepared on where to go from there.  

Listen and subscribe for more inspiring content from our 29029 Community. Learn more about 29029 Everest events https://29029everesting.com/https://29029everesting.com/.

Editor's Note: We aren't just talking about climbing 29,029 at one of our 6 - 29029 mountain events (though we are going to do that too)......We are talking about THE REAL MOUNT EVEREST! Enjoy!

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Let’s talk about your dreams and ambitions……I know you have some!  Maybe they are in the form of a bucket list item that you want to check off before you leave this life behind.  Maybe they seem unattainable but for some reason you still can’t get them out of your head. 

What if you actually got off the couch and started making those dreams happen?  Where would you start?  How would you get there?  Would people support you?  What would it feel like to look back and realize you made that dream a reality. 

Grace Lee was tiny and mighty when she showed up to 29029 Stratton in 2021.  She had an easy smile and a giggle and a wide-eyed wonder for the challenge in front of her. 

Little did any of us know that just a year earlier, Grace was sitting on her couch when she decided she was going to climb the Seven highest summits on the seven continents of the world.  She had watched a documentary….she was inspired.

Oh, but Grace isn’t a mountaineer.  She didn’t ever go to the gym or play sports. She disliked the cold, camping and heights.    

Grace is literally working herself from the couch to Everest.  What is it going to take?  Who will support her?  How is she going to make this dream a reality?  You’re about to find out, but watch out Grace’s dreams are contagious…..

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If I can climb 29,029 feet in 36 hours, with very little sleep and live to tell the tale…..What else can I do? 

If you are signed up for 29029 get ready to ask yourself this question when you get home from the mountain.  It’s inevitable.  Doing hard things is a key that unlocks future potential.  We gain a great perspective of what might be possible when we take on the seemingly impossible and find success. 

The tale we have to tell you today didn’t actually start on the mountain, but the mountain was pivotal in setting the course for this adventure.  

Ben Towill and Charlie Layton have a close relationship.  They are friends and business partners, but this test had nothing to do with business and everything to do with rowing a two-man boat thousands of miles from the Canary Islands across the Atlantic to the tiny Western Caribbean Island of Antigua.  

It’s probably important to note that Ben isn’t a rower, neither is Charlie.  They jumped feet first into a challenge that most people would say they had no business even attempting.  

Not to spoil the ending, but they make it and pull out of port wearing a 29029 RED hat!  

So let’s go back to that red hat, the first one Ben earned in Snowbasin 2021, when Ben and Charlie were still testing their relationship.  

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Most 80 year old men you find sitting comfortably in a recliner surrounded by their grandchildren telling stories of adventures long past.   Jim Fisher is not one of those 80 year old men.  Jim is still seeking adventures, still climbing mountains and still living his life to the fullest.  

In 2021, 29029 Alumni Chuck Fisher invited his parents to climb with him in Snowbasin that year.  Jim and Mary Fisher were 78 almost 79 years old when they pressed that red registration button.  

Jim was an instant celebrity on the mountain.  He was the source of a new kind of inspiration in our community.  Jim was almost 80 years old but Jim was climbing. 

He didn’t complain. 

He didn’t stop. 

We all watched in awe as he chatted and smiled his way step after step up and down those slopes. 

2021 Snowbasin was a challenge for many reasons for Jim and when he left without a red hat a new fire burned inside of him.  He had to come back.  He needed to find his Everest.  

And oh did he come back……..

In June 2022 at the start of our 29029 event season, we invited Jim to speak to our community on a special zoom call.  Jim’s message and motivation is just too good not to share with the world. 

We hope you are as inspired as we are by Jim Fisher.  We hope his message resonates to help you keep climbing your own mountains and seeking out new summits whenever you can….regardless of the birthday you are celebrating this year!  

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Have you ever watched a great athlete perform?  They can look flawless.  Light on their feet.  Perfect form.  They make everything look effortless. 

Whether it's at 29029 or another endurance event it’s easy to see the “front of the pack” and think “how can this be so easy for them”.....”and why isn’t it that easy for me”

I’m not sure what it is that makes us think that those who are winning the races and climbing in front of us are somehow having an easier time.  No matter your ability, everyone is covering the same distance and even the best of us have underlying struggles, not visible to the outside world, that threaten to derail our performance. 

Amber Conlin was the first woman to find her Everest at Snowbasin #2 in 2022.  She was fast and fit, completing 29,029 feet of climbing and 30 miles of distance just after midnight 19 hours after beginning the challenge. 

If you were standing at the summit in those dark, early morning hours, you would have seen a mom being greeted by her 4 children, her husband Tyler and her in-laws.  All of them beaming and overflowing with pride. 

But this 29029 finish was not the only Everest Amber climbed on her way to this point.

We may not always know the battles and challenges that rage on the other side of a smiling face and a brilliant performance, but as we dig below the surface what we uncover can teach us things for our own journey. 

Amber can teach us what true happiness is and how she finally found it……not on the mountain…….but within herself!  

American Entrepreneur and Author Jim Rohn is often credited with the saying “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” 

So look around. 

Who’s in your circle?

Are the people you are spending the most time with people who you look up to; people who you want to be like?

Alvaro Nunez is one of those people you want in your circle. 

Beyond his incredible success in business, he is always seeking to live his life to the fullest.  He’s waded through the challenges of growing up an emigrant to this country.  He worked his way through undergraduate school as a janitor.  He had to reset his mind every time life threatened to derail his plans. 

Through it all Alvaro developed a mindset that turns his challenges into his super power. 

It will come as no surprise that Alvaro seeks to have relationships with people he wants to be like.  That’s pretty much how he ended up at 29029 because Alvaro followed the many expeditions and adventures of Colin O’Brady and he got curious. 

Then Alvaro found out that Colin was going to be in Miami…….Of course, he invited him to go skydiving.

Want to hear more stories from Alvaro and learn to Level Up your own life? Read his book LEVEL UP

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We don’t know about you, but we just can’t get enough of Joannie Rich!

If you haven’t, go back and listen to episode 41 so you can meet Joannie and get a glimpse of why she owns 13 red hats and plans to keep climbing. 

Joannie is a wealth of knowledge not only on the mountain but at home too.  She is generous with her time taking calls and answering messages from participants in our community.  It’s part of what makes her such a legend. 

While we had Joannie in the podcast hot seat, we figured it was a great time to get some answers to those questions everyone is always asking her. Enjoy a little bonus episode with Joannie Rich.  

Find out more about 29029 Everesting HERE

When most people sign up for 29029 they get used to being asked “but Why?”

Why in the world would you want to climb the same mountain for 36 hours?

Why would you want to put yourself through that?

Why would you climb in the rain, the sun, the dark, the snow?

Why would you dedicate so much of your time to earn a red hat? 

Joannie Rich has been asked “why” more times than she can remember.  That’s probably because she was the first 29029 participant in 2021 to wear a black bib, signifying that she had completed 3 previous events.  She didn’t stop there, not even close. 

Joannie went on to become the first participant to earn the designation of “10-time finisher” in 2023.  Remember, when the co-founders started 29029, they didn’t even know if people would come back more than once. 

To date, Joannie has come back 13 times, climbed every single mountain we’ve offered and has never gone home without a red hat. 

Whether she likes it or not Joannie has become a legend on the mountain. She’s fun-sized and fierce and always has the perfect outfit for her final lap of the weekend.  29029 wouldn’t be the same without her and with this little peek behind the curtain you’ll realize why Joannie’s answer to why is usually “why not!” 

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