Author: Uphill Athlete

In this concluding conversation, Mark Twight takes Steve into the harrowing heart of the 1988 Nanga Parbat expedition—four climbers clipped to a single ice screw, buried under avalanche debris for thirty minutes on the world’s largest mountain wall. The vivid recounting reveals how total commitment to an ideal can blind climbers to approaching storms, yet paradoxically, that same commitment becomes the forge where transformation happens.

The conversation traces Mark’s evolution from elite alpinist to founder of Gym Jones, where training fighters, military operators, and eventually Hollywood’s Spartans became his vehicle for service. What began as "grad school for himself" shifted into duty—a way to repay the society that had given him freedom to pursue his obsessions. Through years training actors for films like 300 and Wonder Woman, Mark applied the same all-or-nothing intensity that defined his climbing, discovering that accountability to a creative partner mirrors the trust demanded on a mountain face.

When Steve asks about the through-line connecting all versions of Mark—the nihilistic Dr. Doom, the alpinist, the trainer, the writer—Mark distills it simply: chasing human potential, first for himself, then wanting it for others. The episode closes with Mark reading Bukowski’s "No Leaders, Please"—a meditation on reinvention that has meant different things across different chapters of his life, now a celebration of constant growth rather than a confrontational manifesto.

with guest Mark Twight

In this first installment of a two-part conversation, Steve House sits down with legendary alpinist Mark Twight for one of Voice of the Mountains’ most anticipated episodes. This deeply personal dialogue—the show’s first in-person recording—reunites two climbers whose friendship spans more than three decades.
The conversation opens with Twight’s 2019 book Refuge and his struggle to redefine himself after stepping away from elite climbing. As the 25th anniversary of their landmark Slovak Direct climb approaches, they examine what that 60-hour nonstop ascent of Denali meant then and what it reveals now about ambition, limits, and the courage to walk away.
Twight shares candidly about the costs of single-minded pursuit: failed relationships, financial instability, and the brutal honesty required to assess one’s own decline. He traces his evolution from uncompromising soloist to gym owner and trainer, including his work preparing actors for films like 300 and Man of Steel.
Most powerfully, Twight reflects on the deaths of friends and mentors—Mugs Stump, Jeff Lowe, Scott Backes—and the weight of survivor’s guilt. He and Steve explore what it means to remain open to relationships despite knowing the potential for loss.
Part 1 ends on a cliffhanger: the setup for Twight’s harrowing survival story on Nanga Parbat’s Rupal Face, where four climbers hung from a single ice screw while buried by avalanche. That story continues in Part 2.

Learn how to set endurance training goals that actually work. Steve House, Chantelle Robitaille, and Alexa Hasman explain outcome vs process goals, motivation, identity, and long-term systems for sustainable athletic success.

Discover a practical goal-setting framework for endurance athletes that prioritizes process, consistency, and long-term performance.

Entrepreneur and Harvard researcher Jon Winsor joins Steve House to explore the explorer’s mindset—from Kilimanjaro FKTs to surviving avalanches to navigating his wife’s suicide. A conversation about embracing the full spectrum of human experience, transferring risk tolerance from mountains to boardrooms, and the freedom found in letting go of legacy.

Steve House introduces new Uphill Athlete coach Gabe Joyes for a comprehensive 2025 trail running season review covering Western States, Hard Rock, UTMB, and the World Championships, plus emerging trends in the sport.

Steve House and Scott Backes explore four decades of friendship forged in the mountains—from Scott’s 1980 Canadian Rockies baptism through the Slovak Direct on Denali. A raw conversation about self-hatred, transformation, brotherhood, and bringing love to alpinism.

In this episode of Voice of the Mountains, Steve House sits down with Kyle Lefkoff, a rare figure who has lived at the intersection of serious alpinism and venture capital for nearly four decades. From discovering his "mutant gene" for rock climbing as a kid in Atlanta to surviving K2’s deadliest season in 1986, from co-founding Array Biopharma (acquired by Pfizer for $12 billion) to serving as founding chairman of AIARE, Kyle shares how the same principles—luck, timing, patience, and pattern recognition—govern success on both big walls and in boardrooms. The conversation explores his philosophy of "where matters," his belief that geography shapes who we can become, and why he chose Boulder as the terrain where he could develop both his athletic and entrepreneurial potential. Kyle reflects on "Slater’s Law" (the climb isn’t over until the ropes are on the ground), the parallels between powder days and market momentum, and his ultimate legacy: building bridges—between climbers and guides, entrepreneurs and investors, communities and their mountains.

Learn how to choose safe, effective supplements with dietitian Alyssa Leib. Discover why third-party testing matters, which certifications to look for (NSF, Informed Sport), and get expert guidance on protein powders, creatine, and avoiding contaminated supplements for mountain athletes.