EVEREST SUMMITEER
Everest Summiteer, Holly Budge, Will Inspire You To Think Tall and Start Small!
I SAID YES
Life on Everest is not for the faint-hearted! I spent 47 days above 5000m, on the North-Side. Every day is a personal challenge. Keeping warm and in good health are top priorities, but the other things are not always talked about…Stepping over the dead, nature calls when it’s too cold to go outside of your tent, feeling grubby all the time and putting dirty clothes back on after the occasional ‘shower’, losing almost half a head of hair & 8kg of body weight, bleeding fingernails and some toenails hanging on for the ride, eating hairy spam cos there’s nothing else, hot aches, parasites, and the list goes on.
A positive mindset and an acceptance that nothing is perfect, normal, or even comfortable at times are essential, but sometimes, when it’s really tough—you’re freezing and your lungs are screaming, you’re sick and can’t hold any food in—things are not going to plan, and it’s hard to keep morale up.
That’s when I try to focus on the goal. I remind myself I’m there by choice, ally with those who have my back, and SMILE THROUGH THE PAIN! Try this; it works!
HOLLY’S
TOP 3
TAKEAWAYS
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When you first show up at Everest Base Camp on the North Side, it's unfamiliar. It's freezing cold and very barren. You stare at the mountain; it's imposing. It's an overwhelming proposition initially, with no clear path from base camp to the summit. After a while, you start to acclimatise and get used to your environment. You find 'comfortable' in the uncomfortable.
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I met people on Everest that had never stepped foot on snow before. Don't be that person that simply becomes a statistic because they didn't show up prepared. Whatever your goal is in your personal life or in business, planning and preparation is key. It's not always a case of learning new skills. Often it's about working with what you already know but spending time to plan and prepare for success.
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Not everything goes to plan. You have to accept that there will be misadventures along the way. But it's about how you deal with them. Someone once said to me, "Smile through the pain, and it really does work!" It reframes your mindset, and a positive mindset is a resilient mindset.
“You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in ‘the real world’ by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.”
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“HOLLY CREATED A LASTING IMPRESSION”
What Does the Giraffe Say Media
MORE ADVENTURES
FIRST WOMAN TO SKYDIVE EVEREST
In 2008, Holly became the first woman to skydive Everest. She jumped from a small aircraft at 29,500ft and landed at 12,500ft, the world’s highest landing area, before being met by a sea of global media.
EVEREST SUMMITEER
In 2017, Holly climbed Everest in a 2-person team and was on the minatin for 47 days above 5000m, Her powerful life lessons will leave you feeling motivated, inspired, and ready to climb YOUR Everest!
1000KM ACROSS MONGOLIA
In 2009, Holly raced a grueling 1000km across Mongolia on semi-wild horses. It took her nine days, and she rode 25 horses. This set a new world record for the world’s longest horse race.