I’m currently on a seven year journey to climb the highest point on each continent.   When I started down this road, I figured it would mostly be a challenge of physicality and the ability for my body to push through something hard.   I quickly learned that it was far more of a test of mental grit than anything I’d ever done before.  Sure, the better physical shape you’re in, the more you’ll thrive on these trips.   However, each trip has tested my mind in unimaginable ways.  From dealing with aloneness,  pushing through sickness, working out interpersonal conflicts to that of my own insecurities.   The quest to climb the 7 summits has become far less of “notch on the belt” to that of one of self-discovery & evolution.

If anyone tells you that there’s little or no ego involved in this type of “goal,” they’re lying to you – or simply haven’t come to terms to accept the role ego plays in their life.  With that, I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing.  It drives one to places they never thought possible.   It pushes one into areas of unseen beauty.  It calls one to challenge what is “normal” or “safe.”  If kept in check and acknowledged, it can be a powerful weapon.  If however, ego is left un-checked, one can put them selves at a significantly greater risk of grave consequences.

The 7 summits, for me, has been finding that balance of ambition  & reasonable risk taking.

Mental reset provided by:

Aconcagua – 22,841ft/6962m, January 2, 2010

Kilimanjaro – 19,341ft/5895m, December 2, 2010

Denali – 20,322ft/6194m, June 2, 2011

Mt Vinson – 16,050ft/4892m, December 24, 2012

Mt Elbrus – 18,510ft/ 5642m, August 7, 2014

Mt Kosciuszko – 7,310ft / 2228m March 21, 2015