The 29029 Podcast

Snowbasin 2023: Steve & Crystal Caruthers were the newbies on the mountain. In Steve’s words “unprepared both mentally & physically”. 12 months later….. Snowbasin 2024: Steve & Crystal, were no longer the new kids on the mountain, they were trained, prepared, but the mountain is never easy. Crystal earned a red hat. Steve didn’t. Steve kept climbing. Another year passed….. Sun Valley 2...

At 29029 there are a subset of participants who take on the challenge of a mountain or a TRAIL event as a group: Some are families: spouses, kids with their parents. Some are friends: building their relationships. Some are co-workers, colleagues and leaders betting on the fact that doing hard things together creates exceptional opportunities for connection and growth. Wei-Li Shao started out as an...

We hope you don’t mind if we pull back the curtain for this episode intro. This story is going to be powerful. This message is powerful. Listening might be hard , but we promise it will change your life and perspective. Meet Amanda Melby. We didn’t know the best place to start her story but it seemed right to let Amanda's own words speak for themself. So let's go back 98 weeks to an Instagram post...

I wish you could sit in a room with Julie Youngblood. To feel her energy and joy is something special! Julie is no stranger to the mountain. What started in 2023 in Snowbasin has continued year after year, to different locations and expanded far beyond just the Everests she’s achieved on the mountain.  It started as a small group of colleagues and spouses, but the power of the experience had to be...

On an April evening in 2017, a small single-engine plane disappeared into the mountains of Washington State. Somewhere near 5,000 feet on the snow-covered face of Mount Jupiter in Olympic National Park, metal met rock. A distress call cracked across the emergency frequency — faint, urgent, alive. High above the Pacific Northwest, a Delta flight en route from Seattle to Shanghai heard it. The pilot...

At Whistler 2024 there was a different kind of green that covered the slopes of Blackcomb Mountain. Among the old-growth forest of towering trees every once in a while you’d spot a a green flash……flourescent green to be exact on top of the heads of the crew from Google. Those hats belonged to Team Green Lightning. Some may argue there is nothing “lightening” when you are climbing 4 mile 3900 foot...

At Whistler this year, we had a guest. His name was Tom. Tom walked around the world. No! Really!…..He walked around the world on his own two feet with his dog Savannah. Who better to prepare you to take on a 36 hour hiking challenge than him? Tom’s World Walk came after life threw him one of those curveballs; the ones you really don’t see coming, and the ones that change you from that moment forw...

If you’ve been to 29029 or are training to take on your Everest, you know Coach Brent Pease (and if you don’t…..maybe you should stop what you are doing and open your emails with the training plan.) Brent’s story of coaching hundreds of athletes each year along their journey at 29029 is awesome in and of itself…..but there is a larger part of Brent’s story that has created the foundation of the co...

Pam and Lauren have known each other for years, decades really. They were sorority sisters and college friends. They lived in New York City during 9/11. They shared a lot of life together. After college they went their separate ways, Pam to law school and Lauren to business school. They got married, had children. It wasn’t that they didn’t stay in touch, but they didn’t connect often…..of course w...

At 29029 legends aren’t born—they’re forged. The red carpet on a final summit does not make you a legend, your journey becomes legendary when you continually show up, time and time again , facing struggle, fatigue, and doubt—You become a legend when you KEEP CLIMBING.  In this episode, we celebrate three individuals who have become legends in their own right. Each of them has faced what some would...

NEW EPISODES ARE BACK! The finish line isn't always what you dream it will be. It can be life-changing or it can be a lonely road. Are you good enough? Are you fast enough? What are you trying to prove out there? Does a finish line really define you or your life? Eric Recker experienced too many of those fickle finish lines in his life. He wanted more. He needed more. A reel showed up in Eric&...

CANCER Those six letters….that single syllable….that one word….. Cancer might be the scariest sound our ears can register, especially when you’ve heard it before and hoped to never hear it again. But this story isn’t just about cancer. This story is about a man named David Johnson. A husband. A father. A fighter…..A 29029 alumni who knows what it means to KEEP CLIMBING. There are deep lessons taug...

In 2022, from the outside looking in you might think Vija Williams had it all. A successful real estate career that wasn’t just growing but thriving.  A beautiful family.  Dreams that were coming true.  But what wasn’t true is that narrative. Vija’s weight had skyrocketed to over 235 pounds. Her health wasn’t what it use to be. It was like she didn’t notice what was happening and maintained a skew...

Ken Rideout grew up in the inner city of Boston surrounded by drug addicts and criminals. Today he is a husband, dad of 4, former Wall St. trader and a former opioid addict. Through perseverance and mindset Ken has transformed himself into, the best marathon runner in the world over the age of 50. Since getting sober in 2010, Ken has won races all over the world, from 5Ks to ultra-marathons. In 20...

What is 29029 TRAIL? Is it like a 29029 mountain event or totally different?  If you haven’t yet, we encourage you to pause right here and go back to Part 1 of this episode with Abe Abich.  It’s important that you know how we got to TRAIL with these two brothers and their close friend Jay.  Since an invitation was made by the legendary Thomas Zebley back in 2022 the effect that first mountain expe...

You’ve probably thrown a small stone into a still pond before.  The small rock breaks the glassy water into ripples that reach out from the rocks entry point seemingly forever if uninterrupted.  This ripple effect in nature is the perfect example of what happens within the community at 29029.  Thomas Zebley is a 29029 original, a legend on the mountain.  He has climbed and finished 12 mountains si...

Every episode we start by asking “What’s your Everest?” or your biggest goal or challenge in life.  BUT there is another question that lies beyond the pronouncement of a goal or something you want to accomplish and it’s a bit more complex. Why? Why do you want to challenge yourself? Why do you want to sacrifice time and money? Why is THIS so important?  Why? I was scrolling through my instagram fe...

The boxer Mike Tyson once said “Everyone has a plan until you’re punched in the mouth” This feels like a truth we all understand; that things in this life are not going to unfold the way we want or expect them to.  They never have and they never will. Yet, we go around creating our perfect plans and end up shocked and disappointed when our plans fail.  On the mountain we know how many laps we need...

Sometimes the world feels so big and overwhelming.  There are so many people in so many places with so many opinions, values and path. ......But something happens on the mountains and the trails, on long bike rides and over monotonous hours of endurance training. There’s something within endurance sport that acts like a binding agent reaching across borders and cultures, filling in the gaps of hum...

The mountain has a way of checking our soul, of challenging us on multiple levels all at once.   We met David Allen at Snowbasin this year.  He was strong, fit and capable, a gym owner, former athlete and powerlifter..  He always smiled when we referred to him as “Dr. David Allen” when he would return to the base of the mountain to brand his board.  (Sidenote: David’s not a “doctor” but his name s...

Editor's Note: We aren't just talking about climbing 29,029 at one of our 6 - 29029 mountain events (though we are going to do that too)......We are talking about THE REAL MOUNT EVEREST! Enjoy! ********* Let’s talk about your dreams and ambitions……I know you have some!  Maybe they are in the form of a bucket list item that you want to check off before you leave this life behind.  Maybe the...

If I can climb 29,029 feet in 36 hours, with very little sleep and live to tell the tale…..What else can I do?  If you are signed up for 29029 get ready to ask yourself this question when you get home from the mountain.  It’s inevitable.  Doing hard things is a key that unlocks future potential.  We gain a great perspective of what might be possible when we take on the seemingly impossible and fin...

Most 80 year old men you find sitting comfortably in a recliner surrounded by their grandchildren telling stories of adventures long past.   Jim Fisher is not one of those 80 year old men.  Jim is still seeking adventures, still climbing mountains and still living his life to the fullest.   In 2021, 29029 Alumni Chuck Fisher invited his parents to climb with him in Snowbasin that year.  Jim and Ma...

Have you ever watched a great athlete perform?  They can look flawless.  Light on their feet.  Perfect form.  They make everything look effortless.  Whether it's at 29029 or another endurance event it’s easy to see the “front of the pack” and think “how can this be so easy for them”.....”and why isn’t it that easy for me” I’m not sure what it is that makes us think that those who are winning t...

American Entrepreneur and Author Jim Rohn is often credited with the saying “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.”  So look around.  Who’s in your circle? Are the people you are spending the most time with people who you look up to; people who you want to be like? Alvaro Nunez is one of those people you want in your circle.  Beyond his incredible success in business, h...