So…Why Everest?
People ask me all the time: “Why Everest?” Why pour so much time, energy, and money into something so dangerous, so… optional?
The answer isn’t simple. It’s not just about climbing a mountain. It’s about answering a call.
The First Spark
In 2016, in a cubicle at my entry-level marketing job, I researched Snapchat campaigns. I came across Adrian Ballinger and Cory Richards’ Everest No Filter climb on Snapchat.
At first, I was fascinated by their storytelling and platform. This was groundbreaking at the time! But somewhere along the way, it stopped being about their content, and something inside me shifted… just ask my best friend!
I didn’t just want to watch their story. I wanted to live it. Everest planted itself in my heart, even though I didn’t believe I’d ever be the kind of person who could make it there. I wasn’t disciplined. I wasn’t athletic. I’ve never considered myself particularly tough (I cry ALL the time)!
So… I buried the dream, hiked, explored, chased adventure in ways that felt more attainable. But Everest never completely went away.
Kilimanjaro Changed Everything
Fast forward to 2025. I was standing on top of Kilimanjaro, the tallest peak in Africa.
The climb was grueling and beautiful and overwhelming. When I came down, I swore: “Never again!”
But one of my fellow hikers laughed and said, “It’s probably like childbirth—you forget the pain and only remember the beauty.” She was right.
That climb, and a deeply spiritual Reiki experience (shoutout Rainbow Dawn!) changed me. It proved to me that I could become more than the stories I’d been telling myself for years. And that quiet dream I’d stuffed down for nearly a decade roared back to life.
I’ve always loved being in the outdoors because it feels like the truest version of myself, and the mountains just amplify that. As someone with a neurodivergent brain, I find myself doing a lot of mirroring in everyday life. But out there on the trail, pushing to my limits, I have no choice but to be authentically me. Melissa Arnot-Reid said in her book, “the me I loved the most.” I feel that so deeply.
But Why Everest?
Unfortunately, working out just to “be healthy” is not enough of a motivator for me. 😂 But when I have a specific goal and a deadline, I can hack my ADHD-brain into action. Everest obviously is an extreme goal, but I need (and love) the idea of building towards something huge.
Everest isn’t the most technical mountain. It’s actually not even the “hardest” or mostly deadly. But something deep inside me has pulled me towards it. I finally surrendered to it when I was giving advice to a friend, who told me I need to take my own advice: “I believe God puts certain desires on our heart for a reason, and even if you never achieve that specific goal, there’s a reason that He wants you to go on that journey. And you’ll never know why until you try.”
So for me, Everest represents transformation. It’s a physical and spiritual journey—a quest to become the version of myself I’ve always wanted to be. Slowly, steadily, one step at a time. To ignore it now would feel like betraying the truest part of myself.
I may never make it to the summit of Everest! But I’m leaning into that curiosity. I no longer want to live the rest of my life my wondering, “What if?”
“The brave may not live forever. But the cautious do not live at all.”
Why Share It?
First and foremost, speaking my Everest goal out loud makes me accountable. It forces me to keep showing up, even on the days when doubt feels heavier than my pack.
Next, I know I’m not the most “typical” mountaineer. I’m conducting a lot of experiments! By sharing this, I hope I can give someone else permission to push limits and believe in their big dream, too, whatever their “Everest” might be.
Finally, because I believe in full transparency: Sponsorship. Climbing mountains is unfortunately, quite expensive. So if I can build a little following, maybe find a sponsor or two as a result of sharing the journey, that would be a nice bonus! But I truly have no expectations.
The Journey Ahead
This will take time, patience, and a whole lot of “Pole Pole” (Swahili for Slowly, slowly—the motto on Kilimanjaro).
I don’t know how long it will take me (hence the name), but I do know this: I’m all in. And if/when I finally step onto the roof of the world, it won’t just be about reaching the summit. It will be about every step it took to become the person who could.