The Red Bulletin May 2020 (UK)

VENTURE
Lessons from
the Edge
Freeze frame:
Colin O’Brady
in Antarctica
in 2018
“Just getting
to the start
line would take
18 months of
perseverance”
MASTER
Achieving the impossible
The only barrier to breaking records, says Colin O’Brady, is your own self-doubt
Impossible is a provocative
word. For a select few, just
thinking it makes them want
to prove the opposite. US
adventurer Colin O’Brady
has taken this to the nth
level: in the past five years,
he has broken records for
the fastest completion of
the Seven Summits and the
Explorer’s Grand Slam
(climbing each continent’s
highest peak and visiting
both Poles), and in 2018 he
was first to cross Antarctica
unaided. Last December, he
completed ‘The Impossible
Row’ along Drake’s Passage
between Antarctica and
South America. “We’ve all
heard the internal voice that
states, ‘That’s not possible,’”
O’Brady says. “But you can
reprogramme your mind.”
Never give up
“In my book The Impossible
First, I wanted to share what it
was like to try to raise $500K.
Just getting to the start line
would take 18 months of
perseverance. When we tried
to secure funding, people were
like, ‘Who are you? Why
O’Brady chases that
‘Impossible First’
should we get behind this?’
Determination to get it done
started long before I took my
first step on any challenge.”
Stoicism is key
“During the Seven Summits,
we were on Everest and got
hammered by a storm at
Camp Four in the Death Zone.
My guide, Pasang Bhote,
remained calm and shrugged,
‘Sometimes the weather is
bad. This is just the way it
is. It will pass and we can try
again.’ That was amazing
role modelling. The weather
cleared a few days later.”
Be adaptable
“During my 50 Highest Points
challenge [scaling the highest
peak in each of the US states],
Humphreys Peak in Arizona
had a drought, which risked
forest fires, so we switched to
Mount Whitney in California.
But then lightning started a
fire, so that was closed, too.
Then it began to rain in
Arizona, so we shot back
there. It’s better to plan for
things not going right than be
disappointed when they don’t.”
Break down the task
“I hadn’t prepared for the
possibility that after one mile
in Antarctica I’d be crying,
with tears freezing on my face,
thinking, ‘I can’t pull my sled
any further.’ At that moment,
my wife Jenna said, ‘This is an
almost 1,000-mile journey. We
knew it was going to be hard.
Can you make it to the first
waypoint?’ Setting those
incremental goals was crucial.”
Ignore the naysayers
“Before The Impossible Row,
ocean rowers commented
that I hadn’t rowed before,
and said, ‘There’s a reason
this is a world first: Drake’s
Passage is really dangerous.
We had to go, ‘Shut up,
outside world!’ We had to
trust each other as a team.”
The Impossible First is out
now, published by Scribner;
colinobrady.com
COLIN O’BRADY HOWARD CALVERT
78 THE RED BULLETIN