I spent the last two-and-a-half weeks on international business travel....

... and still found three dawns to disappear into the mountains.

Three solo days. Nearly 50 miles.

More than 23,000 feet of vertical.

Three to four summits each day.

I like to stack nearby peaks and test both endurance and recovery.

Instead of early meetings, I drove off-road to remote trailheads.

No teams. No cameras. No noise. Just endurance meeting elevation. My favorite combination.

I don’t climb for adrenaline. I climb for perspective: the same thing I chase in the work I do. Because experiences are the fuel that expand our horizons and recalibrate our senses.

Designing experiences and scaling ridgelines have more in common than they seem.

Both ask for presence.

Both demand intention.

Both transform the people who commit fully.

And both remind you that meaning isn’t built in comfort. It’s built in effort and discovery.

After one day at home, where I still managed 12 miles and 5,000 feet of vertical on a favorite route, I’m back on the road again for an incredible client launch. But those hours alone at altitude stay with me. They sharpen what I see, how I create, and the kind of experiences I want to build next.

Because the summit isn’t the reward. It’s the recalibration.

The same way the best experiences don’t entertain. They redefine what excellence feels like and quietly raise the standard for everything that follows.

After my Andes ascent this spring, I’m already eyeing up my next 20K ft+ summit. I’m always in pursuit of deeper meaning, transcendent moments, and experiences that defy duplication – just like the brands that seek us out.