It’s About The Journey Stupid!

Making it to the summit does not change you or change the world. It is actually the journey that that provides the lessons that change you, and through you, the world around you.

A few years back, I was completely obsessed with the idea of reaching the top. To me, the aim of every mountain climb was absolutely and unequivocally to reach the summit. Without the victory of reaching the top, the climb would be incomplete and may as well have not happened.

The idea was largely enforced by the fact that, until 2022, I had never failed to reach the top. Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Mont Blanc and others were all in my summit bag. As the pandemic travel restrictions were lifting, I chose to return to the mountains with my LHO team to climb four volcanoes in Ecuador, one of which is above 6000 and designated “the furthest point on Earth”. I went there with an unwavering mindset that I was going to add these to my bag. My trip was all about those summits and nothing else. I was determined to make them my own, to achieve them, to conquer them. Little did I realize at the time that it was this very mindset that kept me from experiencing all that ultimately became my climbing experience in Ecuador. The nonsensical mindset that placed the summit above logic, compassion, joy and even risk.

But Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Ilinizas and Curazon, the four mountains of our Ecuador expedition, had different plans for me. It started when I missed out on Curazon altogether because my flight got cancelled and I had to spend two nights in Miami! Ilinizas was somewhat kind to me and I was able to summit with the rest of the team. Chimborazo turned us all around due to weather. But the one that got to me most was Cotopaxi. The entire team did go to the top and I was forced to turn around due to poor acclimatization only an hour into the summit push!  Never in my life had I gotten so unlucky in the mountains.

At least it appeared to be bad luck at the time. In the mountains, the elements are extreme, unpredictable, and harsh. You can set your goal, train, and think that you are prepared for what’s to come, but you are always at the mercy of the unexpected and the uncontrollable.

Making it to the summit does not change you or change the world. It is actually the journey that provides the lessons that change you, and through you, the world around you. I didn’t summit 4 mountains. I did make 5 lifelong friends. I didn’t reach the furthest point on Earth. I did learn about my limitations and pushed them that one step further from where they had been. I didn’t see the top of Cotopaxi. I did cry, laugh, live and love in ways I had never imagined. That isn’t something that you get by standing on a physical point. That’s what you get when you embrace the journey, are present for it, and promise yourself that you’ll never miss a thing. Opportunities missed are only truly missed if they aren’t transformed into opportunities to learn and to grow.

What lives forever isn’t the moment we stood at the top and looked down. The moments that live forever are every step we earned on our way to the top.