Because It’s Beautiful: The Meaning Behind Kilian Jornet’s States of Elevation

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When British explorer George Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Everest, he famously replied, “Because it’s there.” But what if the real answer is simpler and potentially more beautiful?

Today on Open Container, Doug explores the deeper meaning behind Kilian Jornet’s “States of Elevation” project, a 3,200-mile, human-powered journey linking all 72 fourteeners in the lower 48 states. Jornet ran, climbed, and biked his way across America’s highest peaks, not to set a record, but to experience the wild beauty of the mountains.

Joining Doug is Bryon Powell, ultrarunner, writer, and founder of iRunFar.com, who ran with Jornet on Colorado’s Handies Peak and witnessed the project firsthand.

Topics include:

• The philosophy behind Jornet’s project: why beauty, not conquest, drives true adventure.

• How the “States of Elevation” linked wilderness, athleticism, and mindfulness.

• The power of community and support in massive endurance undertakings.

• Indigenous and public land connections to the mountains we climb.

• Why projects like this remind us to protect and cherish wild places.

• How everyday runners and hikers can find their own “states of elevation” close to home.

Doug and Bryon also discuss how outdoor storytelling and recreation can spark stewardship and how being out there makes us care more deeply about what’s at stake for public lands.

Thanks for listening! Open Container is a production of Rock Fight, LLC. Let's Get Some!

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Episode Transcript:

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:00:00.960 - 00:09:50.330

Welcome to Open Container. I'm Doug Schnitzspahn. I'm a journalist, writer, and overall lover of the outdoors.

I've fought wildfires, reported on national politics, published magazines, and I was once lucky enough to interview the legendary Curt Gowdy about fishing with Ted Williams.

On this podcast, we're going to have an open conversation about culture, conservation, policy, business issues that matter the most to the outdoor community. Let's get some Quite famously, when British explorer George Mallory was asked, why climb a mountain? He responded, because it's there.

That statement can be interpreted in many different ways, especially during the great age of human exploration, when there were still blank spaces on the map and remote reaches untouched by people. There was certainly an element of going out and conquering, of being stronger than the unknown, but I don't think that's entirely what Mallory meant.

He was a man who simply loved being in the high alpine, scaling never before dared ridges and standing on untrammeled summits for the pure joy of it. He was eventually lost on the slopes of Everest, and now he's part of that mountain's mythology.

But if I could amend his famous quote, I'd say, why climb a mountain? Because it's beautiful. And I think that's how many of us are now approaching big endeavors not as a race to be the first, the best, the only.

Not as a form of conquering, but as a way of living, of being, of belonging in these high places we can now access with better gear, knowledge and technology. Instead of harnessing them, modern day explorers and adventurers are appreciating them.

That deep aesthetic appreciation of mountains is what I love so much about Killian Journey's recently completed States of Elevations project.

The Spanish ultrarunner and adventurer already known for records in the Pyrenees and the Alps, came to the US to stand on the 72 tallest summits in the lower 48 fourteeners, or peaks higher than 14,000ft. But he wasn't here to do it in the fastest time possible, though in the end he did set a record.

He was here to fully experience the beauty, culture and expanse of America's high mountains. Journey linked all 72 summits by human power. Running, scrambling, riding a bike between trailheads.

His route included epic pedals across the American Southwest, up the spine of the Sierra and and through the Cascades. The project combined insane athletic ability with a simple, universal love of mountains. But if you want to talk numbers, let's get wild.

Killing climbed 72 peaks over 14,000ft, starting with Long Speak in Colorado's Front Range and finishing with Mount Rainier in Washington, he covered 3,202 miles. That's farther than the driving distance between New York and Los Angeles. And did it all with his own power, running, riding and climbing.

Along the way, he climbed a total of 403,693ft of elevation gain, the equivalent of running from Everest base camp to the summit more than 35 times. And he did it all in about 20 days of activity time, finishing the project in just over a month.

He barely rested between absolutely epic days, getting a few hours of sleep, then heading back out in the dark, fueled by vegan food. Yes, he's powered by plants. That might be an unprecedented burst of human effort, but the numbers alone aren't what make this great.

It's how he did it. Take his first day. Killian started by climbing Longs Peak, a big day for any climber hiker.

But from there he headed across the LA Freeway, a 38 mile technical ridge traverse with 21,000ft of gain between Longs and Arapahoe Peak. Most climbers would be proud to complete that in a few days. Killian did it as his kickoff.

And the thing is, it's absolutely stunning and pure to be up there on that rock with nothing but the sky around you.

Killian went on to tick off other once in a lifetime mountain routes in Colorado, including the Elks Traverse on notoriously loose rock near aspen and Nolan's 14, an ultra endurance challenge covering 14 peaks over more than 100 miles. Many elite ultra runners haven't even been able to finish it.

In California, he set the fastest known time for a supported attempt on Norman's 13, possibly even more epic.

He ended the project on a lesser known but smart route up Mount Rainier via the Success Cleaver, avoiding dangerous crevasses and climbing into the crater of that big wonderful volcano to finish the whole project. Then he headed home to Norway to be with his wife, Emily Forsberg, a world class endurance athlete in her own right and their three kids.

Yes, there's been some fanfare around this achievement, but honestly, none of it captures what an accomplishment this was.

I haven't seen it on SportsCenter or ESPN's homepage, but it deserves to be not just as an athletic feat, but as an example of what we can do with our time on Earth.

To find beauty, to use our bodies not destructively or for glory, but to come closer to the most wild, insurmountable yet possible places on this planet. This whole thing inspires me to seek new routes. I've been eyeing One Killian Tiktoff with no problem.

The one mile traverse between Little Bear Peak and Blanca in the Sangre de Christos. It's a route you can do unroped, but it will keep you scared the whole time. Still, I want to do it for its beauty.

The feeling of being in the sky, of being challenged and moving with intention even in dangerous places. I found that kind of joy on so many other routes.

My friends Eric Henderson and Jeremiah Osborne Gowie and I climbed Navajo Peak in the Indian Peaks wilderness a few years ago. It's a tricky summit, yes, but the real joy is in the approach.

Back in beautiful cirques, not far from Boulder and Denver, yet feeling a million miles away, clambering up a steep gully alongside the wreckage of a 1940s airplane, its fuselage still whispering in the wind. There's loneliness. And then a fun summit block where you had to make a few slightly technical moves.

There's no better joy than going through something like that and standing at the top. Likewise, I've enjoyed routes like Kelso Ridge, heading up to a normally crowded 14er on the front Range.

And I've always dreamed of someday climbing Everest. Not in a massive guided line, but on the North Face, where Mallory disappeared to find the mountain's beauty and its history.

This is what we should do. And that's what I take from Killian's states of elevation. Not just what was accomplished, but how.

That said, I was disappointed there wasn't more mention of the land itself. These mountains Killian was summiting and running across are on public lands, protected lands.

And yet two 14ers in the lower 48 were off limits because they're privately owned. Imagine that. How many more of these peaks might be closed off in the future? I also wish there had been acknowledgement that this is indigenous land.

Take Blanca Peak, one of my favorites. Its traditional name is Sisna Genie, sacred in Navajo culture. These places still matter deeply.

And Native communities are still fighting to maintain their identity and their relationship to this land. But beyond those quibbles, what an amazing achievement. And there's one more thing we haven't talked community. Killian didn't do all of this alone.

He had an incredible support team. And throughout his journey, he was joined. Joined by different athletes.

They would run legs together, climb summits together, and share in the wilderness. One of those brave souls is here today to talk about finding beauty in the extreme.

Brian Powell is a former Washington, D.C. attorney who left his job to devote himself to running ultramarathons full time. He Publishes the popular trail running and ultrarunning website irunfar.com and competes in trail races worldwide.

He ran with Killian on Handy's Peak in Colorado San Juans. So let's open the container with Brian Powell. Well, I am extremely excited to have Brian Powell on the show today.

I've been a fan of his work at I run Far for a long time and I was really impressed to see that you got out there near your home in Silverton and ran with Killian Journey on this incredible States of Elevation project. How did it happen? How did you get involved with goes way back.

Bryon Powell

00:09:50.490 - 00:10:52.360

Killian in 2009 had a project or set of projects called Killian's Quest and he came to the US for the first time to do the Tahoe Rim Trail and try to set an FKT on it. And he did.

And that summer I had just quit my job and moved into Iron Far full time and went out and joined him to pace him and was his leadoff pacer. So I was basically like started his US based running journey and he did drop me within the first mile. But I've been friends with Killian ever since.

We've I don't know how many times I've interviewed him being at various races around the world, but he's yeah, he's a good friend and saw him out of the Western states 100 in this past June where he he ran and remember correctly finished third.

Anyway, he kind of shared on the the down low that he was going to have this Colorado including Colorado in September and wanted to see if I wanted to join him.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:10:52.360 - 00:11:08.440

And this is one of the things I love about this project too that I don't think people talk about as much as each place he ran.

He hooked up with some talented locals I would say people who could hang with him and people who were really connected to each of the small places he was going.

Bryon Powell

00:11:09.000 - 00:12:10.420

Yeah, it was a really great mix of he folks he had known a very long time like out there with me with Anna Frost who was on the Solomon team with him and my wife who he's also known for a long time.

But he, he was with people he'd known a long time in various places, people he didn't necessarily know beforehand but were like subject matter experts of say the some of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains that all link up in this big long chain. And I think both the guy who had the FKT in on it and a woman who had just been the first woman to I think do this line were both out with him.

For different sections and some other local just studs in their areas were out with him in Colorado. And yeah, it was pretty awesome. But it was just such an organic mix and feel of those people too.

Like he was either knew these people for a long time or was relying on these people for information. So it wasn't just like the most famous person he can grab from X town. It was like, no, I want this person with me.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:12:10.980 - 00:12:21.540

But I mean, this is the thing on a lot of projects like this or even on a lot of long distance races that you don't do it alone. Right. You have a group, a community, a lot of people with you as well, right?

Bryon Powell

00:12:21.700 - 00:12:22.420

Yeah. And including.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:12:22.420 - 00:12:22.900

He had.

Bryon Powell

00:12:22.900 - 00:12:50.970

I mean he had a support crew the whole way, which were instrumental because he was using feet to go over these big mountains, but then cycling in between all of them. But somebody was moving his bike from trailhead A to trailhead B.

Well, because there are people who've done say the, the 14ers in Colorado, connecting them by bike, where they would stash their bike in the woods and come back down to the same trailhead and, and then complete it. But he was doing this more of.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:12:50.970 - 00:12:54.250

A chain support it. Yeah, yeah, it was definitely. I love that idea.

Bryon Powell

00:12:54.570 - 00:13:08.490

I love that idea. Yeah, he did. It was really cool. Like they were great people.

Like, he had a photographer, Nick, out with him who was part of his support crew, but also his photographer. But also, I forget his final stat, Nick's final stats from states of elevation, but it was pretty incredible.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:13:09.370 - 00:13:24.970

Well, anyway, so you, you ran handy speak with him, which is near, near your, near your home in Silverton. So how did you know, how did you help him along and did he. Was he pushing you at that point? He'd already done what, like 30.

Some 14ers, I think, at least, right? Yeah.

Bryon Powell

00:13:24.970 - 00:14:56.800

And he'd done 30 miles already. That or 30 miles, I think on foot that day. He'd done four 14ers, like 30 miles on foot, probably 60k on a bike. Who knows?

He'd been going since 6am and it was like 5pm and oh, Killian, he's such a joker.

I mean, because he came to the car, the trailhead and like sat in the tailgate of the truck and ate some peanut M M's and a sandwich and probably had a coffee or something. And like he knows like a. We had this thing where he dropped me in the first mile doing Tahoe Rim Trail, like ages ago.

And he knew like I was like asked him a couple times, like, am I gonna be Able to hang with you. And so we leave the parking lot, start on the trail. 100 meters later, we're going across a bridge.

And we get across this bridge, and the trail starts to climb a little bit. And he just drops the hammer. He just. For like a hundred meters, he's just like balls to the wall. And he turns around. Just kidding.

And he lets me and Nick catch back up. And never am I pushing him. We're on a trail. I think he led most of it.

It kind of made sense just for him to, like, as there's nothing I need to help him with navigation on this. He's run hard rock five times. It's only one trail. There's literally no turns except to a place where we all were.

Five of us, and we all went off course coming off Andes.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:14:56.960 - 00:14:57.600

Okay.

Bryon Powell

00:14:58.720 - 00:16:55.870

But we. And literally, like three minutes before, I'm like, hey, let's not go off course where we all always just go straight down the gully.

And anyway, I was never pushing him. He was always a setting the pace at a good pace, but an honest pace. Like, the first hour I was with him, like, we were just catching up on life.

Like, I've known him for more than 15 years. I know his wife. We were talking about his kids. I was literally talking to him about how he balances work and being a dad.

And I mean, he's has the normal brand under camper. He has his foundation. He does a lot of other things, like, how does he balance his life? And, like, how does it divide up anyway?

We're just catching up on life in both directions. And then we get to about 13,000ft. The trail pitches up on onto kind of the ridge to go up the top of Handy's. He stops and use the woods for a second.

And Nick and I go. The photographer and I go a little bit ahead, and Nick says, all right, I want you.

As we get up to this rock around the corner, I'm going to have you stop and, like, do a little short video so he could have capture me setting the scene of, like, where we are, who I am, what's going on. And so we do that for 30 seconds. As we wrap up, like, I think I say something to the effect of.

And now I'm just going to try to keep up with Killian to the top, see if I can keep up with Killian to the top. Killian goes by is as we're like, finishing that. He gets five seconds on me, and I'm off the wheel.

Like, there's no catching back up at 13,000ft, as the trail got a little steeper. And fortunately, it was a beautiful sunset or coming towards sunset. And I just like, all right, I'm gonna. There's no way I'm catching up.

So I just started taking photos of this gorgeous sunset.

And I also knew that my wife, Megan Hicks, and our friend Anna Frost were going to be at the top, and they brought snacks for Killian, like, unbeknownst to him. So I kind of had a feeling that 15 minutes later, I was going to be able to reconnect at the top. And we did.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:16:56.270 - 00:17:30.400

Yeah. And that's what I mean.

I think the thing more than anything else, when I, like when I first read about him doing this, I was like, oh, that's incredible. It's an incredible achievement.

But then when I first saw the first leg he did, when I saw that, you know, he went from Longs all the way down to South Arapahoe Peak, I was like, oh, I get it. Like, this is about the beauty of it all. Kind of like what you're saying with the sunset. It's about. And that's what I really loved about him.

Like, he is doing this in the most beautiful, most aesthetic way possible. And really, what an amazing thing to do as a human being to get out there and live in the mountains like this for a month. Right?

Bryon Powell

00:17:30.880 - 00:18:46.290

Completely. And he'd done a bunch of. A lot of races in the U.S. at this point, but there's always on the course.

And, yeah, he does a little training before or whatever, but again, that's probably near the course that he's going to be racing most of the time. And you're just like, there's all this amazing.

And a lot, like, wonderfully, we have so much wilderness in the United States, like, designated wilderness areas, and you can't have a race through nearly any of them, or wilderness study areas. Hard Rock actually goes through a wilderness study area because it's grandfathered.

But, I mean, he got to then go through all these wilderness areas, and that was one of the things he reflected on with me and in various updates from and after states of elevation was how close.

Like, whether it's Big W wilderness or just the feeling of wilderness is to, say, the Front Range in Denver or anywhere in the US we just have this amazing thing that doesn't exist to that degree in a lot of Europe.

I mean, he grew up in the Catalan Pyrenees and had, like, wonderful outdoor access and times from his childhood, which is in part what makes him who he is. But he grew up in a Refugio, like.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:18:46.450 - 00:18:46.850

Right.

Bryon Powell

00:18:46.850 - 00:19:30.320

And there's lifts and there's all of that sort of thing where there's the infrastructure that. I mean, he's out in these places in Colorado and, like, the Crestone Needles he just said he loved, and the Elks Traverse, and there's.

You're just out there alone. And so we talked about how he had people with him a bunch. He also was alone a ton.

Like, he'd not been with anybody for those first 11 hours of the day.

I met him on Handy's, and then he had us on Handy's, and Scott Simons, a local outdoorsman, joined him and cycled at night over one of the local passes to hit Ouray. But then there's other times where he's totally alone.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:19:30.880 - 00:19:41.490

Yeah, I love that beauty of it.

I think someone said it was Hannah Truby, writing for Mountain Gazette, said, like, people could have been driving by him and have no idea what this guy was in the middle of. Right.

Bryon Powell

00:19:42.050 - 00:20:40.070

I fortunately had the exact opposite experience at one point, which we were crossing this bridge. I talked about right out of the Burrows park trailhead.

And there's this guy who I think he's, like, camping out for the night, but he was right down next to. I think it's the head of the lake, fork of the Gunnison River.

Anyway, he's there with his dogs down, like, getting filtering water, and he's like, oh, my God, it's Killian. Way to go, Killian. I'm such a big fan. What you're doing is amazing. And he wasn't, like. He wasn't there to be spectating.

Killian was, like, trying not to make this too big of a. An event or circus or what have you. Like, this wasn't about activations with fans or what have you. This was about his own journey.

But I think he got a kit. We all got a kick out of this total. This random guy along the trail recognizing him and being really excited. And he actually commented.

I wrote an article about it, and, like, the guy actually commented was like, oh, my God, that. I can't believe I got to see Killian out there.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:20:41.030 - 00:20:46.950

Yeah. It wasn't like Forrest Gump or something where he had a big crowd, started following him, running him, running all over. It didn't pick up momentum.

Bryon Powell

00:20:46.950 - 00:20:55.470

And, I mean, that's one of the word. Did get out early in the adventure, and I think they had to more tightly control where. What information was out there.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:20:55.470 - 00:20:56.230

Oh, interesting.

Bryon Powell

00:20:56.950 - 00:21:23.840

I mean, he's covering, like, not that he. Nothing about this was an fkt. Nothing about this was trying to set a record or anything like that.

But like if you're doing the meet and greet thing for 30 minutes at the quandary trailhead or something, well, that's like just 30 minutes that takes away from sleep or what have you at the end of the day. So yeah, he had to be a little bit not secretive but quiet about where exactly he was.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:21:24.320 - 00:21:54.800

Sure. Yeah. And I mean that gets to one of the things I think is really interesting about this too. As you said, it wasn't enough kt.

It wasn't some record he was trying to set. It was just kind of like something and it's been, you know, it's been covered. It was in the New York Times or whatever.

But you know, it's not like climbing Everest. You know, it's not some huge known accomplishment. Right. It was kind of something just, just for him.

So how do you see states of elevation, you know, fitting in the pantheon of great long distance and big mountaineering feats?

Bryon Powell

00:21:55.040 - 00:23:49.850

Beautiful is where I'd put it because I don't want to like it's a massive accomplishment and whether it's a race or an outing like this, it's as hard as you, you make it.

Obviously it's a, a month long of effort and tons of elevation and tons of altitude and ton of distance and like it's, it's hard to put that up against other athletic accomplishments. But it, I mean it's like as if someone was doing a big expedition. We can call it a project an expedition.

Like yes, this is all land people of been on before. But he wanted to do something that was meaningful to him and he did. And I mean yes, somebody could do that.

What Killian did and then say I'm going to bike to Alaska and, and do McKinley or, or something like that. There's always more, bigger. But I don't, I don't think Killian was putting it out there to be such a project in the first place.

And so it's, I mean it's like he did his project in the Alps last year and maybe he'll do another one somewhere else. But it's mind bendingly impressive and expansive. So we can look at it that way.

But I think just as importantly we should look at it as kind of the expansiveness of Killian's mind.

I think one of the things he loved about it and I do a bunch of like combined running, fishing projects where I love that for me the beauty of like yeah, there's me trying to catch These certain species over certain miles. But part of a lot of the fun is is beforehand putting those pieces together.

And like Killian wasn't just not, he wasn't saying I'm gonna follow the Colorado Trail through the, through Colorado and then do something else. It was a lot of the times him putting routes together and making.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:23:51.930 - 00:23:52.290

New.

Bryon Powell

00:23:52.290 - 00:24:04.690

Not explorations, but new combinations.

And yeah, the Elks Traverse is the Elks Traverse, but how do you get between Nolan's 14, go over, do the Elks Traverse and then come back and what is the natural thing?

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:24:04.690 - 00:24:13.810

And that was part of what I loved about it. I loved the logistics of it.

I was looking at it, I was like how, I was just thinking about how he was going to put it together and how he'd figured things out, figured that out.

Bryon Powell

00:24:14.690 - 00:24:51.950

Like he was, I won't say where there's a place where he was in Colorado and he was planning to go up one route and either there was a public access issue or there was looking up a gully and there was just a ton of blowdowns, whatever. But like there was, I'm sure numerous times during the project where he got somewhere. I was like, nope, that research does not trend.

That 20 year old blog post might have worked 20 years ago, but no. Yeah, like I get excited thinking about like how you put those pieces together and I'm sure Killian did too.

And like I hope that inspires other people. I'm sure Killian would want that to like.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:24:51.950 - 00:24:52.230

Yeah.

Bryon Powell

00:24:52.230 - 00:25:13.520

How do you, how do you connect wherever you want to connect? Like think about. Yeah, it's fine to think about the four Passes Loop or the Colorado Trail or whatever established routes are. But like get creative.

Like how do you run from your home, your current town to your previous hometown or whatever it is. Just look at a map and dream.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:25:14.400 - 00:25:22.320

How do you think this inspires the day to day reader of I Run Farr or just someone out there who's a usual everyday trail runner.

Bryon Powell

00:25:23.600 - 00:26:49.480

I mean just to maybe think big to see the beauty of Killian's trip and fortunately he did have photographer with him and videographer and just get, get inspired about America's wild places or wild places wherever you live. I say America's because that's majority of our readership and that's where the project took place.

But like oh my goodness, the wild places that we have. Yeah, it showcased Colorado and California and I guess Washington. But like you, you have that everywhere.

And like I think that's one of the really cool things about trail running and ultra running and I was just talking with a publisher about maybe a book or something in the future, But I'm like, one of the amazing things about trail running as a sport to follow or learn or read about or see is how beautiful it is. And we can be inspired by those sunsets.

And that's that sunset where you are like, I can't wait to go home to central New Jersey for Thanksgiving in a couple weeks. And my sister and her family just moved along the Delaware river, which was only half a mile from where parents live, or I grew up.

And I can't wait to see those sunsets running along the Delaware River. Whether it's running or hiking or whatever, or walking with family, that's beautiful to me, and it's meaningful to me. And that's.

Wherever you are, you have that. Find the beauty where you are and get out there and enjoy it outside.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:26:50.200 - 00:27:23.050

And I think you bring up something you've been talking about, something important here, which was he was able to enjoy these wilderness areas, these roadless areas, you know, these things that are a treasure to us.

At a time when this stuff is under threat like, we've never seen it before, you know, when public land is going to be sold off, when Forest Service is being defunded, when roadless areas are, you know, going to be. Have roads in them, potentially. Do you think projects like this, does it make a difference?

Does it move the needle in getting people to care more about public lands?

Bryon Powell

00:27:24.010 - 00:28:53.530

I think in a very indirect way, it's very hard to. I mean, even if Killian is saying it, for that direct message to maybe resonate or come out.

But I. I'm through the activity, like conservation, through recreation, and, like, personal experience. So if.

If Killian being out there inspires more people to be out there, or the same people to be out there more, that creates a constituency deeply rooted in those in the wilderness areas. Again, big W, little W doesn't matter. Like, or the roadless areas or just the outdoors where you live, whether that's.

Again, I grew up in a state park in central New Jersey, and if that gets people excited to be on those trails and get a little bit of funding or. Or just stewardship, volunteer stewardship, whatever it is. Like, and the same.

Like, again, I do some fishing and, like, in fishing, and like, I'm not a hunter, but fishing. And hunters, like, have done so much for concert, are very active in conservation, not just to increase wildlife populations, but they're.

They're stewards of the land and big advocates for it. And having these various constituencies that are deeply appreciative of the outdoor environment. That's how we get protection or conservation.

It's the, the individual getting out there. It's like you can see killing on a cool mountain. Like, that doesn't necessarily like, oh, I'm gonna advocate for that ridge or whatever.

But like, you go follow them to your local ridge, then you want to protect that. Your own outdoor wilderness experience.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:28:54.730 - 00:29:03.450

Yeah. And I guess there's something to be said going the other way. Right, Too.

If you inspire more people to run or to trail run, once they're out there in those places, they're not going to want to see roads there.

Bryon Powell

00:29:03.610 - 00:29:43.490

That's what I mean. That's exactly what. You're saying it more explicitly than I guess I did. But yeah, you get.

If you get people out there and more active out there, then they're going to want to protect what, what's around them or the things that are meaningful. Like that could be a Sierra Nevada or the San Juans in Colorado if somebody's taken one or two trips and has fallen in love with that landscape.

So they could be, they could be advocating for, for conservation near their home and in the places that have touched their lives.

Like, I feel that way having taken a couple trips to Alaska, like being on the Togiak river, floating into Bristol Bay, like the fish populations and the wilderness and the wildlife there, like, inspires me to. That's under threat to protect that.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:29:43.650 - 00:29:59.810

Well, we're coming towards the end of our time. It's been really great to have you on.

I want to know if you could let people how they can find, you know, let people know how they can find out more about what you do about I run far and how to start trail running and then find their own creativity out there.

Bryon Powell

00:30:00.450 - 00:30:32.410

Yeah, I mean, I would recommend you can check out irunfar.com and it directs you to anything you might want to learn about trail running and ultrarunning, generally speaking. And it's like an ongoing sport. I don't even have to tell people about resources for how to like get out there and trail run.

Just go find a map, find some green space and go. You'll find a trailhead and do it like, that's again, there's no barrier to entry. There's so little barrier to like, to learning or knowledge.

Just, just go experiment, go out for a hike and mix in some running if you feel like it.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:30:32.410 - 00:30:41.680

Like. So that brings us to our final question we ask everyone at the end of this podcast, and that is simply what gives you hope my hope is.

Bryon Powell

00:30:42.320 - 00:31:03.440

What gives me hope is seeing the spark and passion that being outdoors can give anyone from 7 days old to 70 years old. I see it in the people. I look out in the street here in Silverton every day. And we can always be inspired if we let ourselves. And that gives me hope.

Doug Schnitzspahn

00:31:05.210 - 00:32:11.820

Thanks for sticking around. For the last drop, I'd like to leave you with a quote from Killian Journey's book Run or Die. Thresholds don't exist in terms of our bodies.

Our speed and strength depend on our body, but the real thresholds, those that make us give up or continue the struggle, those that enable us to fulfill our dreams depend not on our bodies, but on our minds and the hunger we feel to turn dreams into reality. Go find your reality. Thanks for imbibing Open Container, a production of Rock Fight, llc.

Please take a second to follow our show on whatever podcast app you're listening to us on, and send your emails and feedback to myrockfightmail.com to learn more about States of Elevation, check out Killian's Instagram feed. To read Brian Powell's work, go to irunfar.com Our producers today were David Karstad, who just left to move his car, and Colin True.

Art direction provided by Sara Gensert. I'm Doug Schnitzbahn. Get some. Thanks for listening.