Talking And Listening #1 – Samantha Larson

The first show of my new podcast, and I’m delighted to say I was joined by Samantha Larson (@samantson) for it. At 18 Samantha successfully climbed Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, and in doing so became the youngest person at the time to have climbed the highest summits in all seven continents. A Princeton graduate, Samantha is also a keen runner, and competed in this years Boston Marathon which was sadly marred by bombings at the finish line.

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My aim for this show is to create interviews with people who have done interesting things in their lives and have interesting things to say, and Samantha with all her accomplishments at such a young age certainly fits the bill nicely. Climbing Everest has been a goal for so many people, and is regarded as one of the toughest accomplishments a human being can achieve. In the show you will hear just how tough the climb was, both mentally and physically, as well as a whole host of other subjects.

Topics discussed included:

Her first forays into the world of mountain climbing, including her first big climb of Kilimanjaro at just 12 years old
How she built up to climbing Everest as she got older
Her aims and ambitions for the climb, and how she coped mentally and physically with it
The toughest aspects of the climb, and when she was most scared
Her feelings when she began to reach the top, and when she eventually did
What it felt like to be effectively top of the world
How she dealt with achieving such a magnificent goal at such a young age
Her experiences running the Boston Marathon this year, and her recollections of the bombings that occurred

All that and so much more, including a discussion about dogs in tuxedos. Seriously.

Feel free to follow me on twitter @martinhines if you have any thoughts on the show or just to have a chat, and get subscribing on iTunes to always be the first to listen to each episode. You can visit Samantha’s website by clicking here.

Here’s an American TV mini documentary on Samantha’s Everest achievement: