(PART 2) The Climb Out of Pain is Taller Than Everest with National Geographic photographer Cory Richards

Please be aware that in this episode, Simon and Corey have a discussion about suicide. Check the show notes below for the time code. I was sitting there and I ended up just sobbing and screaming into my sleeping bag at the top of my lungs because I didn't want the camp staff to hear what was happening. I walked into the cook tent and I was like, I'm I'm done. And they're like, with the expedition, and I was like, no, I'm I'm like done climbing and taking pictures.

In the last episode of A Bit of Optimism, I sat down with Corey Richards. He's the climber and photographer whose selfie, after he survived an avalanche, made it to the cover of National Geographic. His journey is nothing short of extraordinary, and, as powerful as our first episode was, our conversation went even deeper. Corey's story is not just about surviving the mountains. It's about confronting the personal battles that follow, the moments of clarity and chaos that shape who we all are.

This is a bit of optimism. Our minds do this thing called splitting. When we feel under threat, we get more binary. which you see proliferating in extreme ways across and that for good reason by the way. There's no time for nuance when there's a threat.

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