Mount Whitney, Mountaineer's Route.

I tried for months to find a guide who would take me.

Most of my phone calls were never returned. The few companies that did return my calls told me that they didn’t have any guides who would be willing to take me based on my limited climbing resume. They were not willing to risk their limited permits on someone like me.

I kept calling, I documented all my training and presented it every time. I shared my climbing logs, limited though they were. Doors kept slamming in my face, but for months I kept calling.

I had trained hard for this opportunity. While I didn’t have a traditional pedigree, I knew I could do it if someone would bet on me.

Finally, I found one guide willing to take me. He had only done this route a few times because he was mostly a Denali and Rainier guide. And he managed to get one permit for us for the very end of the season - once he was done in Yosemite.

Scroll forward. Not only did we have a successful summit, but we put up one of the best times of the climbing season. Did I have some moments where Timm’s belief in my skill carried me through? Absolutely. Did we have some laughs at how a 6’5” and 5’6” climbing team works so well together? Oh yeah.

It only takes one person to be your “Yes”.

We all have the resilience inside of us to do great things… or we can come up with a million reasons why we can’t do something.

You can always buy into it when other people tell you that you aren’t capable of getting what you want. OR you can switch to a mindset of possibility and get it done!