The Matterhorn

Zermatt, Switzerland

On August 3rd, 2019 I stood at the summit of the Matterhorn, ice axe in hand, crampons caked in snow, sweat and chill simultaneously bombarding my skin. This was the hardest physical thing I had ever done, and I was only halfway through (I’ve never loved down climbing).

But I loved being here, at the top of the world. I love pushing my mental and physical limits to new boundaries. I love seeing how far and how high my body could take me. I love how every excruciating foot hold and fought-for breath meant I was one step closer to the two year adventure it took to be here.

I believe that humans make the best explorers because of our inclination to look at something tall and far off and think “...how do I get up there?”  And then, by the giant footprints of human desire, technological innovation, and the teamwork of brotherhoods, we always do. I’ve been entranced researching the first European explorers to come west over the Rockies or determine their way into the Arctic, as well as the indigenous peoples who’ve evolved with the land such that “wild” and “home” mean the same thing.  Exploration is the purest form of curiosity, mental grit, and humility. It brings out the best qualities of the human spirit, which I also think are the qualities that have most been dampened by the developments of modern urban civilization where we tend to prioritize comfort over risk and the singular over the whole. It’s a far cry from the way we evolved to now live in our concrete boxes instead of among the mountain peaks where I always feel like I belong.

For the individual, exploration is a force of mental transformation, renewed purpose, and greater personal understanding of the world and your place in it.  When I stood at the peak of the Matterhorn, I felt at my most powerful and most humble. An anti-fragile balance. Mountains exist on the same magnitude of time and scale as the Earth itself.  When I set before them, I understand why our ancestors believed in gods. That my own body, mind, and soul deliver me to its zenith, my spirit is unified and fulfilled.

For the world, exploration is an opportunity to help others connect to our wild and beautiful places. Only when we love something will we truly fight to protect it, and for us, right now, we need to love our natural lands, oceans, and wildlife more than ever.  Bringing the stories and images back to those who can’t make the journey, for the goal of preservation rather than colonizing, is the new heart of exploration.