Tales From the Top of the World

I really hope Phil and Penny Kirk aren’t getting sick of me.

The truth is, I feel like I’m the annoying little snot-nosed kid tugging at the shirts of two well-traveled relatives at the family barbecue, whining and begging for another story about far-off places only found on the map of my imagination.

Lucky for me, that’s not how Phil and Penny see me — or anyone, for that matter.

In late March, the USANA 1-Star Diamond Directors spent a beautiful spring afternoon, evening, and the following morning entertaining me with wonderful stories — most of which appear in Volume 2 of the USANA Magazine, which I hear from credible sources is a pretty good read.

My family doesn’t even like me enough to tolerate me for nearly two straight days, so I wouldn’t have blamed Phil and Penny if they let my call go to voicemail last Friday. Fortunately, they picked up, and I had the pleasure of following along as they recalled their most recent adventure — a trek through the mountains of Nepal, and into the shadow of Mt. Everest.

“It’s one of those things where we can go on and on,” Phil said.

The couple’s most enthralling stories involve Penny’s mom, Edna Northrup. And with good reason. Hearing how the 84-year-old USANA Gold Director made the trek is nothing short of amazing. Penny said there were days when they’d worry about Edna; when a bit of doubt about taking her on this trip crept in. But then, there was always the same tap on their door at 4:30 a.m. It was Edna — boots tied tight, wearing a smile, ready to conquer the next rugged stretch of trail. And conquer she did.

For Penny, the climb they completed on Mother’s Day may have been one of the best moments of the trip.

“We did a very steep climb on Mother’s Day,” she said. “You go through a gate and you’re now at over 12,000 feet. There’s an old, old monastery, and you’re looking out at Everest. The emotions were so overwhelming. It was like, ‘This is the first time we’re finally here, in this country.’ You’re surrounded by mountains so big you can’t even describe them. It was so special to have that experience. What an amazing way to have spend Mother’s Day.”

There are other stories. Many.

• About an amazing horse named Teeka, who did things those of his species shouldn’t have been able to. “The stories of this horse will go on in time,” Penny said.
• There was the experience of navigating the narrow, steep, rocky descent on the high Sherpa trail, where the word “trail” is nothing more than wishful thinking.
• Incredible airports, where the runway’s end is the ledge of a cliff.
• Finding a few warm cups of home. (“In Lukla, there was a Starbucks,” Phil said with a laugh.)
• Interactions with the people of the high mountains, and observing the way they pack everything from building materials to cases of beer on their backs — always hunched over, looking down, as the rest of trails’ travelers gaze up at the sky-stealing peaks.

Most of all, Phil and Penny talked about the incredible group, and the amazing guides that helped all 40 of their caravan make it to base camp and back without any serious injury or illness — an incredible feat.

But there were more than stories; there were lessons.

“The trek really was a metaphor for building a USANA business,” Penny said. “You had all varieties of backgrounds and skill sets. People had to deal with their personal issues. You had people who couldn’t go too fast because of the group. The people in the back were worried about how they were affecting the group.

“You had to deal with how you felt, and so much of building a USANA business is dealing with all the fears that come up. The trek mirrored that. These are the same issues people have. The truth is that we have to create this field of energy around our team that allows everyone to move forward. It’s the true win-win.”

I guess sometimes it pays to tug at the shirts of adults.

For more stories about the trek to Mt. Everest, make sure to check out the coverage here on What’s Up USANA?, as well as the Corporate Blog. And to read more tales of adventure and exploration from Phil and Penny Kirk, pick up Volume 2 of the USANA Magazine — in homes now.