Last week, Anne Jordan and I climbed Mt. Everest. (Kind of)
We took part in a 29029 challenge. The premise of the event is to climb up a ski mountain, over and over again (riding the gondola down), until you reach the height of Mt. Everest – all in 36 hours.
Annie and I chose to participate in the 29029 event at Mt. Tremblant, in Quebec. To reach “Everest”, we needed to ascend the mountain 15 times.
I won’t lie to you – once we got a few laps in, it became clear that every step was going to be an effort and that effort was going to grow by magnitudes the longer we hiked.
So, what kept us going (aside from the copious amounts of Lays potato chips and Cup O' Noodles we ate)?
The heroes we met along the way.
People came to the event with suitcases full of adversity. There is no comparing one person's adversity to others, however, hiking shoulder to shoulder for 36 hours, gives you the ability to share and unburden yourself while simultaneously helping your fellow hiker.
People walked with physical ailments and injuries that logically should have kept them from participating in an event like 29029 let alone completing it.
People carried trauma, loss of loved ones, emotional pain…
And yet somehow, that ability to be raw, acknowledge what you were carrying in your metaphorical “suitcase” and use it - not to fuel your way up the mountain, but to show yourself that it is because of life’s adversity that you have the mental fortitude to try and achieve this audacious goal!
I thought a lot about Pyx Health on this journey.
The very reason why we started the company, the hundreds of thousands of people we help, and the beautiful people who choose to work here and are the heartbeat of Pyx. We, collectively, are privileged to be on this journey together.
Annie and I both achieved our goal of summiting Mt. Tremblant.
I slept for a total of 51 minutes and hiked over 31 hours, Annie slept for 2.5 hours and hiked for 29 hours. Maybe it was the combination of sleep deprivation, the physical exertion, the incredible stories I was privy to be a part of, either way - I have truly never pushed my mind beyond what I thought possible, like I did on that mountain…
And I am FOREVER changed because of it.
