For this week’s Talent Spotlight, Eli Yancey sits down to talk about his passions of hiking and skiing.
Eli Yancey has been fascinated with all things outdoors related since he was a kid. He recalls how his parents would place a big emphasis on being outdoors ever since he was little, and would always make sure to provide opportunities to facilitate and foster an interest in being outside and participating in physically enriching activities, such as skiing and hiking. He discusses how he has been fortunate as a kid to grow up going to Colorado with his family and having opportunities to spend time in the Rocky Mountains. He fondly recalls going fishing, hiking, and paddle boarding in the summer and skiing in the winter seasons. While in Colorado he would be a part of the mountain’s outdoor academy where he would learn the critical skills needed to be in the outdoors while at the same time capitalizing on the unique opportunities provided to them such as camping, kayaking, and hiking in the Rocky Mountains.
Eli mentions that a big factor that keeps him invested in both skiing and hiking is the sense of accomplishment that it gives you afterwards. In reflection of this he recalls a tough hike that he completed last summer up Ballard Mountain. It was a three hour hike with a 4000 feet elevation gain and he was not yet acclimated to the altitude of a mountain with such elevation. In consequence of this, he recalls struggling to the top and seeing the group that he was hiking with hundreds of feet above him. In this moment he decided to persevere and continue up the mountain in order to reach the top. He recalls that this kill is invaluable to him and he is very appreciative for the opportunity to learn such skill. He says that he constantly reminds himself “if I can do this then I can do anything” or “somebody else has done this before so why can’t I.” He uses these personal motivations in order to fuel the rest of his journey and he describes the sense of pride that he feels i himself for the ability to accomplish such a strenuous and mental task.
When asked if he has learned anything valuable from both hiking and skiing, he says that it shows how rewarding determination and drive can be. He recalls the feeling that he has when standing at the top of a mountain to see how much ground he has covered, or looking up a ski mountain and seeing the steep path that he just went down. The reward that he feels after completing such strenuous tasks makes it all worth it and his love for these activities shows greatly in how he executes them. Before each hike he will do extensive research on the mountain, the trail, the level of difficulty, how to prepare, etc. He puts his all into every ski run and every hiking trail he completes and the reward of knowing he just achieved something great keeps him going and will get him up every mountain he climbs (literally and figuratively).
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