Hilaree Nelson (December 13, 1972 – September 26, 2022), was one of the world’s most accomplished adventure athletes.

Named one of National Geographic’s 2018 Adventurers of the Year, Hilaree specializes in ski-mountaineering — a discipline that involves huge and often technical mountain ascents either on skis or carrying them, then descending said peaks on skis.

Over the course of her storied career, Hilaree has conquered some of the most exotic and treacherous mountain ranges on Earth. Among her many accomplishments:

• the first woman to climb both Everest and its 8,000-meter neighbor, Lhotse, in a 24-hour period
• the first person to ski down all five of the Mongolian Altai’s “Holy Peaks”
• skied from the Himalayan summit of Cho Oyu in Tibet
• summited peaks and volcanoes in remote locations across Russia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Bolivia, Argentina, Lebanon & Tibet

Re-released as a tribute to Hilaree, this is episode 364 from 2018 - an incredible conversation about fear, risk resilience, adventure and potential. It’s about balancing the pull of adventure against her responsibilities as a single mom to two boys.

It’s about the allure of the outdoors. But mostly, this is an exchange about the virtues of placing yourself outside your comfort zone – and what that can teach us about potential, the preciousness of life, and what it means to be truly alive.

Watch on YouTube

Original Episode 364 Show Notes

This is for you Hilarree. Rest In Power.

Peace + Plants,

Rich

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