Hiking to Everest Base Camp: What I'm Learning About Preparation

I’m training to hike to Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal. This is not a sentence I expected to write at any point in my career.

I’ve visited 80+ countries across all 7 continents. I’ve keynoted conferences on every continent including Antarctica. But “walking uphill at 17,600 feet” is a fundamentally different kind of challenge than “giving a talk in a warm conference room with excellent WiFi.”

Why

Because I’ve spent 25+ years building companies, giving presentations, and sitting in chairs. At some point you look at the trajectory and realize that if you don’t deliberately choose something that’s physically hard, you’ll optimize your way into a very comfortable, very sedentary existence.

Also, my wife Dawn suggested it, and she’s usually right about things like this.

The Training

I’m currently in the best shape I’ve been in since college. That’s both encouraging and a low bar. The training involves:

• Cardio at altitude simulation. Treadmill incline walking with a weighted pack. It’s as glamorous as it sounds.
• Strength training. Legs, core, the muscles you need to go up and come back down without destroying your knees.
• Actual hiking. Puerto Rico has hills. Not Everest-sized hills, but hills.

The altitude is the wildcard. You can train your legs. You can train your lungs. You cannot fully train for the fact that there’s 50% less oxygen at base camp than at sea level. Your body either acclimates or it doesn’t. (I’m choosing optimism.)

What I’m Learning

1. Preparation is not the same as planning. In business, I plan everything. I have spreadsheets. I have contingencies for my contingencies. For Everest, the plan is relatively simple: walk uphill for several days, don’t die, come back. The preparation, actually making your body capable of executing that plan, is the hard part.

2. Vegetarian food at altitude is questionable. I’ve been a vegetarian for decades. At altitude in Nepal, the protein options narrow considerably. I’m told dal bhat (lentils and rice) is the answer to everything. I’m choosing to believe this.

3. The mountains don’t care about your credentials. I have a 180 IQ, a perfect GPA, a stack of awards, and 15 books. None of that matters at 17,600 feet. The mountain doesn’t read your resume. It just asks whether you can take another step. I find this refreshing.

The Plan

I’m not disclosing the exact dates yet because I’ve learned that announcing ambitious physical goals before you’ve proven you can do them is a great way to create a story where you’re the punchline. I’ll share more when I’m closer.

What I will say: if you’re a fellow desk-bound executive who’s been thinking about doing something that scares you physically, do it. Start training now. Your body is more adaptable than your calendar suggests.