Climbing Our Own Mount Everest

Recently on Netflix, I came across the movie “Into Thin Air.” This movie reenacts the disastrous events that took place during the Mount Everest climb on May 10, 1996. Krakhauer was actually on that fateful climbing expedition where eight people were caught in a blizzard and died on Mount Everest during summit attempts. That year, fifteen people died trying to reach the summit, making it the deadliest year in Mount Everest's history until last month’s avalanche killed 16 guides on the mountain.

As the Earth's highest mountain, Mount Everest is a beast that not many have conquered.  To climb it from base to peak is over 5 miles of ascent, with the ridge taking a slight dip before rising abruptly in a rocky spur some 40 feet high just before the true summit.  The air is thin, the conditions treacherous and the weather needs to be exact.

In 1953 something special happened.  A massive expedition took place on Everest. 350 porters to haul equipment, 20 Sherpa mountain guides, and tons of supplies were rallied to support a vanguard of only ten climbers.  Of the 10 climbers, only the fittest two would be chosen to attempt the summit. 

  

Those two would be Ed Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.  On May 29^th of that year, these men would become the first people to stand atop the world's highest mountain.

They would do it in a powerful partnership.

With the support of the entire team who traversed the mountain face with them, their final ascent went from IMPOSSIBLE to POSSIBLE.

Climbing Our Own Everest

My weight loss journey has felt like my own personal Mount Everst.

Standing at the base of the mountain, looking at how far I am from the top, it is tempting to turn around and say, “Forget it.” OR “This is going to be too hard.” OR “This is not really worth it.”

Imagine the adventures and the views that would be missed if fear prevented moving one step closer to the peak. 

One thing is very certain though…

It will take a powerful partnership.  We cannot do this climb without a whole team who is willing to at least go with us part of the way, and that one partner who will summit with us—no matter how hard it gets.

This past week in the news, I read a story of a climber whose partner got injured just before the summit of Mount Hood.  Sadly, the climber decided to summit the mountain alone.  And he died.  The conditions were too treacherous to handle without the support of a companion climber.

Our climb is also too dangerous and important to risk taking alone.  We need our health coach, our community of support, and our entire bionetwork.  We need the Habits of Health to learn and to grow.  We need the advice and encouragement of those who have climbed the mountain before us.

If you wanted to climb Mount Everest would you just fly to Nepal and do it?

No.  You would become a student of the mountain. 

You would talk to people who have already climbed it and learn all you can.

You would read books and study both the mountain and the skills necessary to become an expert climber.

You would invest in the proper gear.  You would not be stingy about it either.  You’d want to know you had the best packs, harnesses, helmets, axes, lighting and gloves possible.  You would want the proper attire and shelter for the conditions.  You would study the weather patterns and have a plan of escape should the conditions become too dangerous.  You would climb smaller mountains before you attempted the mac-daddy mountain, to gain experience, confidence and skills.

The same is true for optimal health.  We can’t just expect to climb the mac-daddy mountain without having very important criteria in place.

So, what gear do you need to have in place to move toward success?  Foods, strategies, distractions from food, etc...

Who is your support team?  And ultimately, who will be your powerful partner?  It takes an army of support—you can’t do it alone.  For me, my coach happens to be one of the experienced guides but DAN is my powerful partner who will actually summit with me.  And I have a HUGE community of support around me—including many of you reading this!  (THANK YOU!)  

How can you learn everything you need to know, becoming a student of optimal health? I feel so blessed with the Habits of Health book, workbook and DVD, but I also need other reading materials on health, fitness, the brain, habits, etc… 

And practice, practice, practice. 

This is hardly Mount Everest, but it was an actual climb that felt impossible to me--but I DID IT!

We CAN summit!   The IMPOSSIBLE can absolutely become POSSIBLE, if we’re willing to look up from the base of the mountain and know that everything required between here and the peak is going to be worth it—no matter how hard it is and no matter how many attempts we make to get there.  It's not a race.  It's an accomplishment.