expanding outdoors: climbing 14,000 feet with suzan bond

View from the summit of Grays Peak

Imagine for a moment, a childhood spent in and out of hospitals and doctor’s offices with multiple bouts of asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis and sore throats. And while you’re at it, go ahead and imagine suffering from scoliosis and an achilles tendon that was too short for your legs (preventing you from standing flat on your feet). Imagine being outside and not being able to run or play tag with the neighborhood kids.

Most of us may be able to identify with one or two of these things. But all of them? At once?

I’d like to introduce you guys to Suzan Bond, my most recent interview with an inspiring late-blooming athlete. She doesn’t need to imagine that scenario because she lived it. Growing up, she says, “was like one big illness.”

Her physical challenges followed her into adulthood. She had two serious surgeries in her twenties. The first, to fix a birth defect on her spinal cord. The second, for bacterial strep in her pericardium (her heart, people!), she flatlined during surgery. As in, nearly died. Two and a half weeks in ICU and a major hit to her immune system later, she began her recovery.

I met Suzan shortly after she moved to Boulder, CO where we became fast friends. She’s an amazing quick-witted entrepreneur, coach and consultant, with an often wise and intuitive outlook on life.

This past summer, she accomplished something that, as a child, was only a glimmer of a dream. Something so foreign and unattainable that the mere thought seemed too big a dream to actually dream:

She climbed one two mountains over 14,000 feet above sea level (familiarly called “14ers” in Colorado), and, in the process of training, she also became an athlete.

About a year before she made her summit, she shared her dream with me. We agreed to work together to devise a training plan* that she was comfortable with, as well as (and most importantly) work through her challenges in how she viewed her physical abilities and athleticism (read: she didn’t think she could and didn’t see herself as an athlete at all).

I was thrilled to sit down with her recently and talk about her remarkable journey. Today you can find her hiking the foothills of Boulder, snowboarding in the high country, rock climbing and practicing yoga (all this from a woman who never considered the possibility that she could ever enjoy outdoor physical activities).

I am honored and excited to introduce you guys to Suzan.

defining a dream

taking a break on a training hike in Boulder, CO

What prompted you to set the goal of climbing a 14er?

I love hiking. It’s one of the reasons I moved out to Colorado from the concrete jungle of Chicago. I thought it sounded like something that would be a good, fun challenge to do.

What were some of the things that helped you during your training?

Having the encouragement and help from people like you and others who had done one before. The expert advice was really helpful. For example, I learned how to slow down when I was tired, but not stop.

The encouragement that a non-athlete could do it was also really helpful, as well as taking really long hikes that I didn’t think I could do (but then doing them). You really helped me stretch beyond my comfort zone but not beyond my ability zone—which was critical.

Can you tell me more about “learning how to slow down but not stop”?

It’s interesting because it’s like life. You go pell-mell super-fast and then you stop. It struck me as a not-so-efficient use of my energy. I started using the concept of slowing down but not stopping both on the trail and in life. I’m not racing ahead and getting myself tired anymore.

You also mentioned stretching beyond your comfort zone.

Yeah. A lot of things have happened in my life because if it. It taught me that we put these artificial barriers much closer to our comfort zone than we need to and I’ve learned that I have to put them out much further. Otherwise, we end up with this small little life and see only peeks. We don’t get to do new things.

I used to see myself as a smaller person, when I’m really capable of so much more.

You mentioned that you work a lot of hours as an entrepreneur. How did you fit training into your schedule?

It was hard but it wasn’t. For me, I knew the goal, I had a schedule and I knew roughly what I needed to do. I’m naturally goal-oriented and when I set a goal, I set small chucks in between.

Sometimes I couldn’t get in all the goals I scheduled, but I just broke it down by week and if I couldn’t meet the whole goal, I just did what I could. The song, “Just Keep Swimming” from Finding Nemo stuck in my head and I just kept singing to myself, “Just Keep Pushing.”

on becoming an athlete

I want to switch gears for a minute and talk a little more about growing up with health issues and how that effected your view of yourself as a physical being.

I wasn’t ever a terribly athletic person. There were a couple of small spurts here and there, but that was mostly because I was forced into softball, soccer and gymnastics per my doctor’s orders.

I hated it. The kids made fun of me. I was the worst. When I want to do something, I want to do it well and I couldn’t do athletics well. I was always the last one picked at kickball. That’s not even a joke. It’s really true. It was either me or the girl who was wearing the neck brace. It was that bad. I was much more into reading, music and thinking.

What did the word athletic mean to you growing up? Has it changed?

I guess I had a certain image of somebody who loves sports, wears workout clothes all the time and works out every day. Someone with a natural ability who competes in big events.

It’s definitely different now. It’s funny to hear new people I meet refer to me as athletic. Now I see an athlete as someone who is willing to push around physical, mental and emotional boundaries to do something physically. I really feel that anyone can be athletic. It’s totally different from what I used to think.

the summit of Grays | August 2010

it’s not a race to the top. it’s just to the top.

So let’s talk about August 13, 2010. You climbed not one, but two peaks. Which ones did you choose and why?

I picked Greys and Torreys (14,270’ and 14,267’ respectively) because several people told me that it was an easy one for your first climb and because there was a small chance that we could get both in one day (which we did). And also because my friend, Kim Curtis, who was going to be hiking with me, had done them before.

So tell me about the summit hike.

We started out on the late side of a beautiful summer day, without a cloud in the sky, which was very good news (and allowed us to get both peaks) because we didn’t get up to the first summit until around noon, which is usually when you should be heading down to avoid the summer thunderstorms (and the lightening danger that accompanies those storms).

We started out very slowly. I tend to be a somewhat slow hiker. We saw so many people pass us (many of whom in very inappropriate gear—jeans, no coat, no food or water). These hikers were a bit irritated that I was going so slow and made cracks about it as they passed us.

I would just repeat, “slow and steady, slow and steady.” The mantra I eventually came up with that helped me was, “it’s not a race to the top, it’s just to the top.” This really helped me. Eventually we began to leap frog those folks as they would hurry up and then stop.

Was there a shift in your thinking as you began passing these folks again?

Suzan with support team, Kim Curtis

It didn’t really register that we were passing them. I was so focused. But there was one time, about an hour or so in, just before we hit the steep incline, where we stopped to fuel up. I remarked to Kim that I was sorry for going so slow. She told me to turn around.

There was literally one group behind us. We had passed all those previous groups save for two that went ahead of us. Everyone else had turned back. This really astounded me. It seemed that more than 50% of the people who started around the same time had stopped.

This gave me the encouragement I needed to get the rest of the way to the top.

Congratulations! What was the summit like for you?

It felt like a great accomplishment. The scenery was so beautiful. It was really fun to sit with the 15 – 20 folks who were up there at the same time. We all made funny jokes about how I was tweeting and making bawdy jokes. You know—the kind when you’re really slap happy. It was such a great moment in time.

When we were up there, we decided to go on to the summit of Torreys which was about a 700’ climb down to the saddle and then back up again.

digging deep

Was that climb different than the first?

I had a very tough time making it to the top of Torreys. By the time we finally made it, I was pretty tired. With that peak I just called on my stubbornness. I have an amazing will to do what I set out to do. I like to say that “when I set a goal, I hit it or die trying” and well... I’m still here.

What was your biggest challenge?

Probably my brain. Getting over pre-set ideas about what I could and couldn’t do. The biggest was probably that I wasn’t an athlete but attempting an athletic feat and what did I think I was doing? During the hike itself this reared its head again after we hit the first peak and were in the midst of nabbing the second one.

Can you talk more about that? What helped you finally reach the summit?

It was so interesting. I had no idea how I would respond to altitude as an asthmatic. There are physical things and real walls on a challenge like this. It turned out that because I have asthma, altitude was not a big deal for me. I was used to less oxygen. That was every day of my life, so realizing that it wasn’t an issue for me hiking was exciting and helped buoy me up.

With Torreys, I was struggling. There are steep drop offs. I was a little too hungry and didn’t think I could do it. I was hard on myself. “I’m weak,” was what I was thinking. I ended up counting to ten the whole way up—just taking what was right in front of me, being in the moment and not beating myself up. “I’m walking to ten. Okay, another ten.” I took it in bite-sized portions until I made it all the way.

lessons learned

Boulder, CO

What has been the most surprising thing you’ve learned?

That I’m strong and more athletic than I think. That I have a will power and strength that I can call on.

How has this accomplishment translated into other areas of your life?

I think it helps me to know I can do far more than I can even imagine and that there are more possibilities I can reach and that are available to me. And I don’t stop as soon. I used to stop before my abilities ran out and now I don’t. I keep going and I keep pushing.

What’s next?

I’d like to do more 14ers next season. I’m also learning how to snowboard and plan to get back into climbing next year.

What advice would you give to a beginner hoping to climb their first 14er?

Believe in yourself. Train. Ask people who have done one before for their advice. Oh, and cut your toenails back. The descent can be very hard on your toes and you don’t want to lose your toenails like I did!

Also on a down climb note—remember that descending can often be harder than the summit, which is counter-intuitive. Also make sure to bring plenty of supplies, even if you feel foolish doing so. We got lucky that we had no inclement weather and no injuries, but we definitely planned in case we did.

Any advice for those who are in the process of discovering their “inner athlete”?

Definitely! Set a goal that’s relevant to you. I live in a land of ultra marathons and century bike rides and crazy stuff like that. I just set goals that were relevant to me. It’s not a race to the top, it’s just to the top.

Measure yourself against yourself and ask, “Am I doing MY full ability?” Surround yourself with people who are supportive (not necessarily athletic). I needed supportive and patient, like my friend Kim. She pushed me just enough.

And don’t let your internal limitations effect your external reality. They almost never match.

Suzan, thank you. I am so inspired and excited by your story and for what’s next on the horizon for you. And I know your story will help to inspire and motivation others who are reading here to believe in themselves and trust that it’s never too late.

Photos provided by Suzan.

welcome

If you’re new here, welcome. You might want to subscribe to my blog via RSS feed or email to stay up to date on the latest posts, or subscribe to the newsletter for all the latest news and additional features from Expand Outdoors (of course, if you’re feeling ambitious, you can do all three!).

Be sure to catch more inspiring interviews with late-blooming athletes. And if you or someone you know has a story you’d like to share, please contact me.

If you enjoyed reading this, here are a few more posts you might like:

• A Personal Journey
• 5 Ways to Create Positive Change
• Standing in the Fire: Overcoming Fear

*Please note I am not a personal trainer. My work with Suzan was based on my own experience climbing over 16 of Colorado’s 14ers and information she shared with me about her health, goals and dreams.