Dad Climbs Mt Everest!

My original intent in undertaking this journey was to check off dad's bucket list, one by one. However, in looking at the list, I started to realize that these were all places that he could have realistically visited on his own, given more time and means. If there's one thing I knew about my dad it that he was constantly in awe of what human beings can do with dedication and pursuit. Given that, I kept thinking about how cool it would be to expand the list to places that, even in his wildest dreams, he never would have imagined going... which leads to my friend John Beede.

I love awesome people, especially the ones who inspire you to do great things for the world. I've been lucky enough to know John for nine years. I can't think of anything this guy hasn't done. John has traveled the entire world, is an amazing motivational speaker who inspires thousands of young adults, he's a rock climber, author of the book "Climb On!", kitesurfer, owns multiple successful businesses, and is probably one of the most genuine, giving and humble people I've ever encountered. He has a huge heart and is all about helping others. Check out this video to get a glimpse of how many lives he is changing, and it's a great message to hear too.

John has climbed some of the highest mountain peaks in the world and has been preparing for years to climb the tallest, Mount Everest. The more I thought about John's own journey, the more I thought of how cool it would be if dad could climb Everest, too. I was hesitant to bring up the subject to John, but being his incredible self, he was eager to help and spent his LAST day at home with me to lay out all his gear and find a place to hold dad.

Attaching some ashes to his gear might sound like a simple thing to do, but it's much more complicated than you could imagine. Climbing Everest is extremely risky and dangerous. With the steep cliffs, high altitudes, lack of oxygen and heavy gear, ounces of weight turn into pounds. Adding just an ounce of ashes to his gear is far trickier than you'd imagine. Even more complicated is finding the right place to attach them.

One of the things John was trying to explain to me was how difficult it will be to be able to grab onto anything or get to dad's ashes, so he could leave them at the summit. While we were trying to decide on where to attach the ashes he had me put on THREE layers of gloves to give me an idea of the little amount of traction he would have. We tried many different solutions: his down-suit, boots, gloves, outer pocket, water bottle holder... eventually we found the right solution, the inside of his helmet.

I had no idea how much goes into climbing Everest. It's truly amazing and so inspiring. The roughly two month journey requires an unbelievable amount of dedication. I am so grateful to know someone like John. Not only do I appreciate his selflessness and willingness to help take my dad up Everest, but also for how much he has inspired me to always strive to be a better person, challenge myself, surround myself around good people, and to take risks in life just to see where things go. It's a contagious attitude to have in life and brings nothing but good and exciting things. 

John is already starting the climb and if you would like to track his progress you can do so here.

Good luck on your journey John and thank you from the bottom of my heart. We will go flying in Africa when you are back! Cheers! 

Cool little background story: My Nickname

For those who don't know, my dad called me "Spudz" since the first minute I was born and never called me anything else. Apparently when I was born the doctor handed me to my dad and said that I weighed "5 pounds, 5 ounces." My dad responded with, "Wow he weighs no more than a sack of potatoes, I think I'll call him Spudz. Some may argue it is because I LOOKED like a potato as a baby, however my dad assured me that was not true lol. Now, you may be wondering why I'm telling you this random story about my weird name; here's why:

John told me the best thing to put the ashes in would be a small plastic bag that's wrapped around a "lens cleaning cloth" type of material that could be sewn shut... I've had this little cloth pouch that has a lens cloth attached to the inside of it since the beginning of my photography journey. In fact, I actually purchased it the same day I bought my very first camera back in 2007 and have had it ever since. Here's the oddest part... When inspecting the pouch to see if it would work for this purpose, I noticed that on the inside it had some writing on it, the name of the manufacturer... "Spudz.com." I needed no more confirmation that this was the perfect way to send him to Everest. :)