Climbing and Skiing 2 million vertical feet in a year (what?!): Lessons from Greg '2 Mil' Hill
Why would anyone want to climb and ski 2 million vertical feet in one year (or even think about doing it!)? Well, last November we had the opportunity to catch up with Greg Hill, aka “Greg 2 Mil Hill”, at the Banff Mountain Festival to ask this very question (in case you haven’t heard of Greg, he’s the guy who actually decided to climb and ski 2 million vertical feet in a year).
For Greg, it was about setting an objective and realizing that objective. Greg says, “Our goals can easily get away if we don’t stay diligent.” (That’s from a guy who climbed up and skied down the equivalent in vertical distance of Mt. Everest three times a month for a full year). “Going for your dreams can be a scary thing – but it’s important that we do it. After all, the more you put into it, the more you get out,” says Greg, “and that’s what makes life worth living.”
Following is an interview we were fortunate to do with Greg in Banff. Thanks Greg for sharing your story and messages!
CFC: What inspired you to climb and ski 2 million vertical feet in one year?
GH: I’m a numbers guy. I was climbing a mountain one day and realized if I did 5,500 feet a day for a year it would add up to 2 million feet. It seemed like a great idea, but I didn’t realize at the time what it would involve – it took 10 years to train and get good enough to make it happen. In the end, it was about knowing my human potential.
CFC: When you reached the 1 million mark, you were elated, but at the same time it was daunting because you knew you were only half-way and had to cover another million feet in less time. How did this feel, and what kept you going through this period?
GH: When you climb a mountain, you can see the top – where it is you’re going. And you can also look back and see how far you’ve come and say ‘ok, that wasn’t so bad, I can make it to the top.' But when I was at the half-way point, I was looking back at the million feet I had just done and thought ‘that was really, really, really hard. And I’ve gotta do that again and in less time,’ because I was 12 days behind. What I realized at that point was that it was definitely going to take absolutely everything I had. It was requiring every ounce of my energy and my motivation to stay committed and to finish it.
CFC: This was a huge commitment; however, you have family and two young kids, and it was very important to you to keep that family balance. How did you keep this balance, while having the objective, but also making sure you were there for your kids and your family as well?
GH: Life is all about balance, and family is the most important thing. I had this obscene goal, but it wasn’t my family’s goal. I would take advantage of early mornings, go out at 4am and be back by 10am to be a dad all day. That’s important to me. I want to have my kids’ respect, and that they see I’m a driven man and passionate, but I also want them to be really connected with me and that’s so important. Climbing mountains with my kids, taking them to summits – that connection is something that’s going to last so much longer, and I’ll be more proud of them in 10 years than my 2 million feet.
CFC: How has this experience changed you? How has it changed your outlook?
GH: Challenge is very important. In life, you can actually go through it and not be that challenged at all. Taking on new challenges allows you to really figure out who you are. Now I know what my human potential is, and I also know I have this incredible drive. It’s really allowed me to change a lot, and I feel more confident in myself. It may sound a bit cheesy, but it’s true. I spent a lot of days struggling to figure out who I am and now that change has happened. What’s great about it is that it’s been a bit of a stepping stone – people actually want to listen to me and my words mean something to them. And so I can now help them create change in their own lives which is really cool. For example, the 100 mile diet is something that is really important to me. We use far too much in the world to get our food to our table, and I’m now in my town, using my voice to help that change and get people to have more gardens and grow a lot more themselves. It may be the little things, but hopefully in the end, my voice will make a difference.
Backcountry.com presents... The Greg Hill 2 Mil from Greg Hill 2 Mil on Vimeo.
