1) Barry Finlay
“When our son Chris and I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in 2009, he mentioned he used the phrase, “Just keep swimming” from the movie Finding Nemo as motivation to reach the top. In retrospect, our climb was a sample of the challenges we all face in our lives no matter how significant they are. We have to meet them head on and do our best to overcome them. We have to keep climbing.
With Chris’ mantra in mind and with my own philosophy to keep going no matter what, I came up with the following slogan: Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep on climbing. It was originally just a personal reminder to my family and I to keep pushing ahead when we are met with challenges. I never foresaw the impact it would have.”
Read what this Best Selling non fiction and fiction author, Barry Finlay, had to say about his famous slogan “Keep Climbing”
https://www.barry-finlay.com/keep-climbing/
“It doesn’t matter what challenge we are facing, or the setbacks that might arise, we have to keep climbing.” ~ Barry Finlay
2) Conrad Anker
Who is your climbing hero? Alpinist Conrad Anker may be a model for many.
Born in 1962, the 56-year-old American rock climber, mountaineer and author became the face of mountaineering after discovering George Mallory’s body on Mount Everest in 1999.
Since then, he’s climbed the world’s tallest peak three times, taken part in countless National Geographic expeditions, and was the subject of a 2015 feature film by his climbing partner, Jimmy Chin, about their summit of Meru.
Watch his TED Talk (June 2016) here on “The Call of Everest”:
More recently, an April 2019 article features how he is still climbing after a heart attack, wow!
“I don’t want to live life in reverse. And I might not be leading expeditions anymore, but I’m still climbing. I’m still outside,” he says.
Read article here:
https://www.outsideonline.com/2393565/conrad-anker-climbing-heart-attack
3) Chris Sharma
Professional climber, Chris Sharma discovered climbing at the young age of 16, and in that year, made his first ascent of Boone Speed’s longtime project Necessary Evil (5.14c) at the Virgin River Gorge in Arizona — the hardest climb in the country at the time of 1997.
Since then he’s done climbing competitions, events and much more… but what strikes us is his deep insights about life that climbing can give us.
… as Chris says, “It’s important for us all to see climbing as a personal journey and to realize how it can be about reaching for something just beyond your grasp. As the level gets higher and we get more young gym crushers, it’s crucial to understand why we climb and also to share that journey with the next generation. Today, I share climbing with my daughter.”
Read his climbing story “A Lifetime of Climbing” here:
https://www.climbing.com/people/chris-sharma-a-lifetime-of-climbing/
4) Stewart Alexander “Alex” Lowe
Stewart Alexander “Alex” Lowe (24 December 1958 – 5 October 1999) was an American mountaineer. He has been described as inspiring “…a whole generation of climbers and explorers with his uncontainable enthusiasm, legendary training routines, and significant ascents of rock climbs, ice climbs, and mountains all over the world…”
He died in an avalanche in Tibet at only 40 years old. Today the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation honors his legacy. (Source: Wikipedia)
Read the tribute story in memory of Alex Lowe, a gifted climber here. To many of his friends, he was the best climber in the world….
https://rockandice.com/tuesday-night-bouldering/tnb-who-is-the-best-climber-in-the-world/
Stay tuned for next month’s climbing inspirations!