Standing just shy of 21,000 feet on a knife-edge ridge is equal parts sobering and exhilarating.

Even more so when it’s -15F and you are in an unforecasted windstorm. And it’s the third time you’ve almost been blown off the mountain. Your guide just threw himself on top of you and tackled you to the ground as a huge gust upwards of 80mph hit you both.

High altitude mountaineering is not a sport for everyone. Many sports have an exit ramp when adversity hits. You can pause the game, you can swap out players, or you can turn around and go home. This is not that, and it’s one of the reasons that I love high altitude mountains. They will test everything you have - mentally, physically, and emotionally - and they will bring you face-to-face with the delicate nature of your mortality.

I just returned from an expedition to climb Cerro Tupangato in the high Andes. I chose this mountain because it is remote. It’s rarely climbed. And I knew I wouldn’t see many other people out there because this mountain doesn’t have a big name. But it does have a big summit. And my remote, isolated mountaineering experience delivered beyond my imagination.

There are enough harrowing stories, lessons, hard choices, and incredible highs surrounding this trip, that I’ll be sharing them via a blog. LinkedIn just doesn’t have a format option to tell these types of stories. This won’t be a tale of the glossy triumphs that seem to permeate so many stories of high-altitude mountaineering.

If you have ever wondered what it feels like to wear an Everest expedition suit, wear a pack that is 65% of your body weight, get up in the middle of the night at 18,000 feet in 90-100mph gusts to salvage your Summit Series Everest tent, descend 11,000 feet in a matter of hours, or execute a high altitude rescue for another climber near death, this is a blog for you!

I believe that experiences are fuel. They create memories that we carry with us. They create stories that we love to tell.

Whether they are personal experiences or brand experiences, those indelible impressions are the things that create the fabric of our lives.

And, for me, this trip delivered in spades. I look forward to sharing more on our blog. I'll be posting the link this week, so stay tuned!