"I challenge every single one of you, no matter what field you guys are in - no matter what career you guys have, every single person can use where they are as a platform to affect the people around you. Be it mental health, be it the outdoors, you know, promoting the outdoors, be it cancer. There are so many ways you can help others and I think that every single person has the opportunity to do that." - Cody Wiktorski According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is...

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." - Walt Disney. To Summit Up's first birthday is coming up and it has come A LONG WAY since those early days. This entire progression has been an incredible learning process and I am super proud of what it is becoming. Let's continue to grow To Summit Up together and promote the positivity and benefits getting outside and to the mountains has. Reach out to me ([email protected]) and let's chat about ways that WE can create...

"So this whole thing started basically with Elissa Madonia.  Her and I met at the gym and running. She got me into trail running this summer. Then it was like 'hey, why don't we go and take a trip to the Adirondacks with the dogs just for a weekend - because why not?'. Then it turned into her asking me to do the Appalachian Trail. And then it turned into 'alright, we'll do a little test run up in the Adirondacks' - which turned into (instead of a weekend) a month of trying to hit all 46 high...

New Trail Talk Nuggets! What is the farthest that you would drive to ski knowing that you would be waking up and going to sleep in your own bed? How far would you go for the thrill of blasting through powder? Freshman year of college, my Dad, brother and I left our house in Rochester, NY at 2 AM and drove 7 hours to ski all day in Vermont at Sugarbush Mountain... and then we drove back home (I should say that my Dad drove the ENTIRE way). 14 hours of driving for one full day of skiing. It was...

"If you want to go into nature, you need to respect nature. It comes down to that basic principle. You can't go in there with a machete and just start chopping it up, you know? It comes down to Leave No Trace. It comes down to just the basic 'don't ruin it'. It's not going to be there if we ruin it." - Dan Allen Fantastic interview with a fantastic friend and adventure buddy. On the podcast this week is Dan Allen. Dan grew up adventuring in the Adirondack mountains and has a deep...

Happy Tuesday! This podcast episode is another Trail Talk Nuggets segment and the 13th overall To Summit Up Podcast. I recorded this episode on a short walk in Webster, NY after a day in the office. The trail talk nugget segments are turning out to be pretty decompressing and therapeutic. The premise behind them is to help me ensure that I practice what I preach. Not all time spent in the outdoors has to be on huge elaborate trips. Spending a little time each day to get out and walk (even if...

PODCAST! This episode is exciting because it is the first in the Trail Talk Nuggets Series. This style of episode will be published on Tuesdays (with interviews and longer form being published on Fridays still). That means TWO PODCAST EPISODES PER WEEK! The Trail Talk Nuggets Series will consist of shorter segments from out on the trail. Topics can and will include anything and everything that crosses my mind from current events to trips that I have taken or want to take. This is an effort to...

"Love, friendship, networking - these are all critical connections and the foundation of a healthy, happy life." - Whitney Wolfe Herd This episode is another solo round! If there is anyone you would like to hear on the podcast, please send an email to [email protected]. In this episode, I talk about the importance of building up your LIFE network and how to develop the lasting relationships that will bring you towards the most fulfilled life that you can have. You probably already...

"The night is darkest before the dawn." - Harvey Dent in the Dark Night This episode is a solo round (just me 😃)! I get vulnerable about how I used mountains to develop myself to become more self aware and a better person through seeking forgiveness. Jealousy is a blinding fault and I was guilty of letting it control me at one point in my life. I let negativity into my inner workings and it began to show externally. I stepped away from a friendship with an ex-girlfriend to work on myself...

"When you are on the mountain you often find that your limits aren't so black and white. You can push them and that's the great thing about mountains. I don't think I had the confidence in myself to do a lot of things until I started spending time in the mountains. I just love the mountains." - Matthew Lilley In this episode, I had the pleasure of phone interviewing Matthew Lilley (@crestone_ on Instagram), a Colorado adventurer, runner, long distance biker, occasional mountaineer, and...

"Morale was the lowest once we finished the steeper side of the front side coming down Colden. We hit the pretty much flat portion and had five miles left at that trail junction. I sat down for a second and I got rid of one of my layers and Ryan's like 'we should probably take our headlamps out now'. We were looking at five or six miles in the dark. Oh boy." - Roger Laistner "I was definitely thinking about daylight waning away and it was definitely in my mind in terms of setting the pace...

"It's easy to find a routine and be comfortable with it and be comfortable with home and be comfortable with the people that you are around, but there's a new freedom that you find in yourself and you learn SO much about yourself when you are put in an uncomfortable situation or a situation where you have to basically start over. There is such a beauty in it and, in terms of relocation, just because you are relocating doesn't mean that it's permanent." In this episode, I have a great...

"(I am most proud of) the shift to seeing myself as someone that goes and adventures and is capable of anything - I am super proud of that. That, saying yes to everything, I wasn't always like that. I used to wait for the right time to do things. I used to want to wait until I looked a certain way or I had a certain amount of money or certain conditions were ideal or perfect. Shedding myself of that and understanding that the perfect is the enemy of the good is something that I am so proud...

Episode Date: September 28, 2018 Adventurer: Solo Round - Ryan O'Malley Location: Rochester, NY Description: "Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint." - Angela Duckworth. Running a marathon is mind over matter. I would have crawled over the finish line if I had to. On Sunday, September 23, 2018, I ran my first full marathon and finished along with my two friends, Brandon and Sarah. We had been training for the summer months leading up to the race. A few weeks...

Episode Date: September 21, 2018 Adventurer: Neil Ferguson Location: White Mountains, New Hampshire, USA Description:  “It’s a journey, you know, each mountain is a journey. I think maybe I’ve transitioned from (from the first few I’ve climbed) always being about the destination and getting to the top – getting to the views at the top. I think now I am more enjoying the entire adventure on the entire way up.” – Neil Ferguson In Episode 4, I interviewed a great friend Neil...

Episode Date: September 7, 2018 Adventurer: Allie Reynolds Location: Los Angeles, CA and Bolivia Description: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi. In this episode, the wonderful Allie Reynolds and I dive into her dedication to service and the adventures that coincided over the past two years. Allie began volunteering for the Good Shepherd Volunteers after college and spent her time and effort over the past two years changing...

Episode Date: August 24th, 2018 Adventurer: Brandon Agostinelli Location: Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada Description: “Each mountain represents its own challenge. Everything has its own things that you’ll be worried about. You have that one goal in mind to get to the top but there’s only one way to get there and it’s to not worry too much about what you are afraid of.” – Brandon Agostinelli A great friend, Brandon Agostinelli, joined me and 7 others in a week-long mountain...

Episode Date: August 9th, 2018 Adventurer: Lisa O’Malley Location: Adirondack Mountains, NY Description: In Episode 1, we meet my mom, Lisa O’Malley, on the trail in the Adirondacks after completing her first Adirondack High Peak – Macomb Mountain in the Dix Range. We engaged in an ambitious weekend in the mainly unmarked Dix Range and she discovered the beauty of mountains. Not all beautiful things are easy to attain. 3 weeks after the hike, I followed up to see what she felt...

What do you do when the higher Adirondack elevations are muddy, wet, and fragile and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation asks hikers to consider remaining below 2,500 feet in elevation to let the peaks dry? Hike to the half way point just below 2,500 feet on the originally-planned hike and then use the rest of the afternoon to jump off some cliffs, obviously. Spontaneity feeds adventure and curiosity and this change of plan ended up being just as fun as the original...

Sunday, January 14th: The Second Ski Day. ** As always, head over to the gallery from Whistler Blackcomb - January 2018 to see all photos from my adventures! ** Somewhat adjusting to the Pacific timezone (or maybe it was just how much the skiing wiped us out), my Dad, brother, and I all got a full night of sleep on Saturday night. I'm pretty sure that I was knocked out within 5 minutes of my head hitting the pillow. The few beers had the night before probably helped the process as well....