lessons from the mountain.
Just a few days ago I wrote “the long haul” just before my 29029 Everesting event! Now on the other side of the event, I’ll call this “lessons from the mountain”.
When I wrote the “before” post, I had no idea what was in store for me. I knew that the event we signed up for and trained for over the past 20 weeks, would be physically demanding but I had no idea how miserable I would be for such a long period of time!
I also could not have fathomed the pure elation of those final steps to the summit!
The mountain climb was much more difficult than I could have ever dreamed. Over 3600 vertical feet of each of the 8 ascents is diverse terrain. To begin, up a giant hill - heart pounding right from the get-go! Then into a magical forest where it feels like Gandalf is waiting as well as the giant stairs that go straight up. Forever. A sign reads “And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul”. Yes, the mind must sit down while the soul surges onward.
And then the trail gets narrow and rocky requiring focus and concentration. It was like yoga – breathing and moving and trying not to fall over.
A mile or so up, out of the woods and into the light with wildflowers everywhere! The trail turns into a softer path but so steep and demanding. Like life, the terrain just kept changing. That first ascent the views were stunning and, in some ways, felt like a payoff for the work to get high enough to see it all. Brutal but beautiful.
At the top, the trail turned so steep and rocky it was simply one step at a time, trusting your feet and legs to keep going. The end of the first ascent was exhilarating!
Along the way there were aid stations with volunteers cheering and ringing cow bells! It was the best! I could have kissed those people! They reminded me of the people we choose to surround ourselves with that keep cheering us on and lifting us up even when it gets tough and ugly and hard. Those are our people.
And then the rain began - soft at first and then never-ending. The rest of our 19 hour day it rained and rained. The trail got muddy and slippery but we kept going. It was cold and damp those next 4 ascents and all of our clothes were soaked. We changed and then they got soaked again. We finished our 5th ascent around 1 am and went to the hotel to rest for 3 hours knowing we still had 3 ascents or about 10 more hours of work to do. I will admit, at that point I questioned my resolve.
We were back on the mountain at 5:50 am and it was still raining. Around 4:30 pm we finished our final ascent and it was glorious!!!
What I learned on the mountain is that being light in heart and mind makes the climb easier. If we want to go up, we must keep letting go. And relentless determination is sometimes all we’ve got. The conditions and terrain will keep changing. There may be beauty in one moment and suffering the next but believing in ourselves is the factor that no amount of rain or terrain can touch. I’ve always known how important belief can be, but on that mountain I realized that it is a non-negotiable. You must believe that you can do it - whatever it is - and that is the difference maker.
That mountain also reminded me the value of balancing confidence with humility. We had to be confident to tackle that mountain but humble enough to receive the teachings it had in store for us in each moment.
Thank you mountain!
Just keep putting one foot in front of the other
Focus on your path but look up every now and then to take in the view
Surround yourself with good people
To go up, keep letting go
Be willing to be uncomfortable
Cow bells rock!
Have relentless determination for whatever you set out to do
Never, ever stop BELIEVING in yourself
Thank you for caring enough to read this long post!
Big love,
Tammy