Q: Why did you decide to embark on the 50 Peaks Challenge?
A: It was a mentorship project for me. Maddie Miller is 21, but she was 18 when I started climbing with her. On one of our early climbs, when we reached a high point, I explained what a high point was, that every state had one, and that some of my friends had done all of them. She asked, “Can we do it—really fast?” And that’s where it started. It’s more about facilitating her experience.
Q: Is there anything about the experience that surprised you?
A: It was significantly harder than I thought it would be. It was difficult to try to work with a clock, which I normally don’t do. We drove almost 15 hours a day, splitting up the time between me and one other driver. It was legitimately one of the hardest things I have ever done—and that was a total surprise.
I was living in a tiny van with four people, 24 hours a day, for 41 days. That was simultaneously my favorite and least favorite part. In that situation, you expose yourself to people in a way you don’t do in regular life. Usually, you’re with people at work, and then you go home, but nobody could go home.
Q: What is it about guiding people and helping them accomplish climbs that you like the most?
A: It’s being able to be a part of people’s life-changing experiences. It’s being a part of other people’s experiences rather than leading them on my experience. That’s endlessly gratifying. Every time I see that light in someone’s eyes, I remember my first climb.
Q: How does your work as a guide affect your experience during your own climbs, when you are not serving as a guide?
A: As a guide, I’m a professional risk manager, consistently thinking of all the things that can go wrong. Since working as a professional guide, I have become much more conservative. It’s easier to make riskier decisions when it’s just you climbing.
Q: What did your most recent Everest summit mean to you?
A: It meant everything. The biggest thing is that it was a question I had: Can I do this? Can I achieve this goal? Is it possible? I just wanted an answer to that question, and I feel grateful that the answer was yes.
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Photo credit: Jon Mancuso