A couple of months ago I was at my company's offsite where, in a session on culture, my coworker described the people at our company as those that are excited to climb metaphorical mountains, "yes! I get to climb this mountain."

I'm not sure why certain people are wired this way (probably some evolutionary thing) but it's certainly true in my case. I love to climb mountains, both literal and figurative. I enjoy pushing myself to see what I can accomplish. There is no better way to motivate me than to tell me something can't be done because it's impossible, too hard, or too challenging. I respond with, "watch me."

I want to make this year epic. Why? Because I recently turned forty. I want to be able to look back and remember the start of this decade through some significant accomplishments. In that light, I've committed to three endurance events that I have never done before: Everesting, an adventure race, and an ultra trail race.

August: Everesting

Hike up a mountain. Hike up the mountain again. And then again. And again. Keep hiking up that same damn mountain until you've reached a total vertical gain equivalent to the height of Everest - 8,800 meters. That's Everesting.

My buddy told me about the concept years ago, though he was never able to convince me to do it. Over time the idea has been popularized by companies like 29029, which hosts events at ski resorts across North America. I really wanted to do the Whistler edition... until I saw the price.

Instead of spending an amount equivalent to a (shitty) used car to put myself through misery Type 2 fun, I decided to Everest on my own at a tenth of the cost. I'm going to complete laps of the Grouse Grind in North Vancouver. Hike up and take the gondola down. Each climb of the grind is 800 m, meaning I'll have to complete eleven laps. The grind is only open for roughly twelve hours on a summer day, so the plan is to complete my laps over two consecutive days, doing as much as I can on the first day and finishing the remainder on the next (unless I can somehow convince Grouse Mountain to keep the trail and gondola open overnight 🤔).

September: MOMAR

Have you heard of the Eco-Challenge, AKA the world's toughest race? If not, then definitely check out the series on Prime documenting the adventure in 2019. It's badass. A multi-day expedition where teams have to paddle, trek, bike, and climb their way across, over, and through the mountains, jungles, and ocean in Fiji.

I'm not ready to sign up for an Eco-Challenge but it has inspired me to do an adventure race. Last year I tried to sign up solo for the Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race and it sold out before I got my registration in. This year, there is a group of six of us (a team of four and a team of two) that will be competing in the 50 km Enduro version of the race.

October: UTMB Chihuahua

UTMB Chihuahua will be the longest race I have done, ever. It's daunting. I wrote about this one already. Check out what I had to say in my UTMBCH25: Day 0 post.

Curious to see what it takes to train for these events? You can track my progress by following me on Strava.