By: Tasha Boyd - IronHike Everest Finisher

This last October I completed the Everest challenge with Iron hike on Mohawk mountain. An event I signed up for as my “next big thing”. I’m a bodybuilder and my goal was to get on stage again in 2024. I wanted a challenge in front of me after the stage. It’s funny how life works out sometimes.

Unfortunately I didn’t make it to the stage as planned. However, I do believe all the training, I thought was for the stage, was actually to prepare for some really tough things ahead of me. From the first contact with John from Ironhike, I felt welcomed, wanted and encouraged in the challenge of a 72 hour event. Connecting through social media, I felt like I had gained a family member. From the moment I got to the mountain, and met 2 of the founders, I realized I had indeed gained a whole new family, or as John would say, Tribe.

Just over a month before the event my dad died unexpectedly. It was a very broken relationship, but something I thought I’d resolve before he took his last breath. I didn’t get that opportunity and when I got to the mountain, having failed a bodybuilding prep season and losing my dad, I was pretty broken. Broken, but UNSTOPPABLE and absolutely determined to conquer this mountain in front of me. What I didn’t know about this challenge, was that I was going to be supported, loved, hugged, fed, cared for and encouraged beyond what I thought was possible. My dear friend Vicki came as my support crew, and she was amazing! The Ironhike staff, was over the top. They go above and beyond to make sure everyone has what they need. This isn’t just food, headlamps, electrolytes. It’s hugs, support, encouragement.

My first night on the mountain, in the quietness of the darkness, grief overcame me. At the bottom, I dropped my chip in the bucket, tapped the bell, sobbing, Cliff, one of the amazing staff members, was there, to hear me share about my dad, to hug me through it, and to get me back on the mountain, to finish what I’d started. Ironhike isn’t like any other endurance event out there, it’s a tribe, of amazing humans, helping each other conquer whatever mountains are ahead of them.

Finishing IronHike is one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. Many of the athletes I was honored to share the mountain with have become dear friends. We all had different goals, distances, time on the mountain, but together, we were a force, determined to complete what was before us and encourage each other in every literal step.

I’ll be back on the mountain in June and I encourage anyone, to sign up for this life changing event.

Tasha