By Julia Caulfield

Hilaree Nelson has seen places most of us can only dream of. She’s climbed Mt. Everest and was the first person to complete the ski decent of Lhotse – the fourth highest peak in the world. She’s gone on expeditions in North America, Europe, Africa, Antarctica, and Asia. But, she also calls Telluride home.

On Tuesday, February 18th, Nelson will help transport us to the tops of mountains with her “Daring Greatly” presentation. Nelson’s presentation is part of the Watershed Expedition Series. KOTO’s Julia Caulfield spoke with Nelson about her presentation and why it’s important to take risks.

Julia Caulfield (JC): The name of your presentation is “Daring Greatly”. What does that mean?

Hilaree Nelson (HN): We have such an affinity towards comfort, and with comfort there are amazing things, but we neglect sometimes to take risks and to dare and to step out of our comfort zone. I’ve taken it to kind of an extreme level, what I hope the takeaway is for everyone in what they do to realize that all these comforts that we’ve made for ourselves are sometimes a detriment, and we should step outside of that and dare. Take dares and take a couple of risks and think differently about who we are, and how we live.

JC: You’ve been to places that most of us will never go to.

HN: Yes, perhaps. And that’s why I love telling those stories so that people can feel a little bit a part of some of these really wild places.

JC: When you’re on these expeditions, and you’re in these places that are so remote and wild – what does that feel like to be standing there in that spot?

HN: Wow. I mean, on particular moment comes to mind, and it was in 2018 and we were on our summit day for climbing this 8,000-meter peak – Lhotse – and we’d been in the dark. We started at 2 in the morning and it was dark, and it was so cold and you’re at 26,000-feet. And then, we had a sunrise, and there were five of us in the whole of the Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse Valley. That sunrise, I can’t even explain it. It gives me the chills right now. I turned around and it was instant tears in my eyes and I was laying back on the snow, and I just remember thinking ‘this is why I do this. This moment, is so personal, and I feel so small in this huge landscape, and so insignificant, but in a powerful way’.

JC: In addition to going on these expeditions, you’re also a really big supporter and advocate for keeping wild places wild. You’ve already mentioned that when we’re in live, the phone’s ringing, social media is happening, technology is all over the place. We’re very busy and there are so many things we need to be caring about all the time. Is there anything you feel that people, just living their day to day lives to support those places?

HN: Again, this is something I take to an extreme. I go to some crazy, really remote places. But really what it means to me at the end of the day, is that I have somewhere to go when things get tough; and live is tough for all of us in so many different ways. So that’s really my takeaway; whether you live in New York City, or Shanghai, or Telluride, Colorado – these places are all very different – hopefully there’s some short walk that you have that gives you that space to not be on your phone, to think a little bit, and I think when you connect with even the smallest, quiet trail, or space, or park, it gives you a little bit of sanity, a bit of that feeling of being a small thing in a big landscape, and hopefully that makes your problems feel smaller than they do when you’re all wrapped up in them. That’s not totally answering your question, but I think if you have that connection to a space then you are going to care about it. I think the point is that if you can care about that space, then hopefully you can transport yourself and care about some of these other spaces that maybe you’ll never see, but you can understand their importance.

JC: Without spoiling the presentation, is there anything you’re really excited or looking forward to share with folks?

HN: I’m super excited to talk about the trip I just got back from in Antarctica. I’ve wanted to go there for so many years, and I finally got to go there in January. I just got back a couple of weeks ago and the pictures are beautiful. It’s just an incredible place and somewhere that was really new to me – so that’s why I’m all jazzed up about it. So I want to talk about that, I’ll probably talk a bit about Lhotse, Telluride, I’ve lived here for 20 years so I have a lot of stories from here.

JC: Hilaree, thank you so much for taking a couple of minutes to chat with me.

HN: Thank you for having me.

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Hilaree Nelson’s presentation “Daring Greatly” will take place on Tuesday, February 18th at the Sheridan Opera House at 6 p.m.. It is a free, community event.