Back in 2011 while at the Coast Guard Academy, Johnny Zeng envisioned climbing the 58 fourteeners in Colorado. The fourteeneers are mountains that each exceed 14,000 feet in elevation. Five years later and after many months of training and preparation, he faced his fears and self-doubts head on. Johnny embarked on the dangerous journey to raise money for his favorite charity, Students Helping Honduras. He called the expedition, Climb for Honduras.
He survived the grueling expedition to tell us his tales. Learn how he prepared, trained, equipped himself, slept, ate, dealt with wildlife, and survived a life-threatening fall up on the mountains, all the while figuring out how to raise money through trial and error.
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Show Links for Johnny Zeng
Show Notes & Summary for Johnny Zeng
- Johnny found out about Students Helping Honduras from his classmate George at the Coast Guard Academy
- He was a cadet for four years and then was commissioned for five years in Honolulu, Hawaii and then in Seattle
- He was a swimmer growing up and into many physical activities
- Later on in college, Johnny got into mountaineering and rock climbing
- His friend Kyle told Johnny about mountaineering in Colorado and about the fourteeners
- He realized that he could combine his passion for mountaineering with his passion for SHH by climbing for Honduras
- Johnny focused on “scrambling” which is kind of like hiking but on steeper terrain, like cliffs
- He took a year-long alpine mountaineering course through mountaineers.org where he learned skills getting getting out of crevasses
- Rock fall was a serious threat
- Redundancy in equipment is important for safety
- Johnny worked on his cardio and leg strength for fitness training.
- You must be able to run 3-5 miles consistently
- Everyone handles altitude changes differently, with headaches, appetite loss, vomitting
- He did a lot of camping next to his car, which carried everything he needed
- Colorado has convenient camping locations and regulations
- He carried a water filter with him and get drinking water from a nearby streams
- He took food, water, and snacks, emergency gear with him during the climbs
- Sunglasses and sunblock are important
- Johnny encourages the use of trekking poles to preserve your knees, even if it’s a stick you pick up on the side of the road
- Johnny had gotten a certificate in fundraising from the University of Washington through a year-long course
- He learned to make a website through www.codefellows.org
- “Learning about fundraising in the classroom was one thing. Applying it in the real world was a whole new experience.”
- Johnny used Fundaround.com as the online fundraising platform
- He marketed Climb for Honduras via word of mouth, Facebook
- Right before the trek, Johnny felt terrified and was full of doubts and uncertainty
- He knew that life was uncertain after the expedition, or even during the dangerous expedition
- He brought a Honduran flag with him everywhere, including on the expedition. People signed it as he trekked along
- People from his church network in Colorado helped him and even joined him during parts of the expedition
- Johnny prefers climbing with his friends instead of going alone
- Chicago Basin, Colorado, was the most beautiful landscape Johnny witnessed during his expedition
- He worried about his fundraising while on the treks and continued to work on it during his rest days back in civilization
- He would climb 4-5 days of the week and take 2-3 days off
- Camping up in the mountains was peaceful, especially the places with less people
- There was the threat of encountering black bears
- He saw many marmots!
- At one point it started snowing, even though it was August
- There were many moments where Johnny felt in danger
- Due to frost, Johnny fell and injured his right hip. He kept going despite the sharp pain.
- He saw rain, snow, thunderstorms, and even hail
- Johnny ate a lot of dehydrated food that he heated up with hot water. They were mostly stews
- Johnny’s favorite flavor was chicken and rice
- The sunrise hikes were breathtaking
- When the sun comes up, all your worries melt away
- The last peak was Mt. Huron, and in preparation they had brought a champaign bottle with them
- He had lost 12 pounds of weight
- He loved In-And-Out Burgers when he got home
- “The mountains are calling, and I must go.” -John Muir
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