Meet Chris Fisher | Mountain Athlete & World Record breaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Fisher and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, how do you think about risk?
Risk tolerance/raking is the key ingredient in life. I see it as, if you live life and never take any risks then you will live the same life and have no idea what else is out there for you. To experience more than you’ve experienced in the past you have to take risks. Everybody’s tolerance to risk is different. For me, I dropped a full-time job to chase my dream of being a full-time athlete and in doing so has completely changed my life for the better. The confidence I had in myself at the time was so high (still is) that I realized the risk was worth any outcome. Rather I would make it as a full time athlete or not. It all comes down to the thought of “what if”. I don’t ever want to look back on life and think “what if…?” Live life with what ifs or live life and find out through risk taking.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a professional mountain endurance athlete. I move far throughout the mountains and excel at linking together big mountains on foot. I also am a big mountain skier as well as a mountain biker, hiker and just all-around mountain athlete. This all started at a young age when my parents brought me to Colorado for the first time around age 5. Ever since then I became obsessed with the mountains and knew that I had to be there at some point in my life.

Fast forward about 17 years and you’ll find me training and getting ready to ship out to the Navy to pursue a path of becoming a Navy Seal. At the time I knew this is what I was meant to do in life. Well, little did I know that it was meant for me but not in the way I intended. I ended up quitting training and ringing the bell during hell week of BUDS and shortly after I found myself exiting the Navy. Once out I made my way over to Colorado just like I had dreamed about ever since my first trip to the mountains.

The navy taught me a lot of really incredible life lessons that I would carry over into the mountains. The biggest lesson I learned overall was that I can literally do whatever I want and accomplish whatever I want in this life as long as I put forth the effort and stay true the tenacity hidden in my mind to make such things happen. This lesson is what will eventually lead to me becoming a professional mountain athlete and break world records. The next big lesson I learned was that I never wanted to feel the way I did when I quit during Hell week. I was in a hole for months to follow having no idea what to do with myself. All I knew was that I didn’t want to experience that mental hell again.

The thought of not wanting those feelings would bring me to attempting hard challenges in the mountains. Challenges that the majority of people wouldn’t even step up to the starting line for. I figured the only way I could overcome that feeling of being a quitter was to put myself back in the arena and give it another spin. Except this time the arena would be the mountains and the opportunity to push my limits both physically and mentally throughout them.

After being in Colorado for around 2 years I decided that I wanted to attempt at breaking a world record for the most vertical feet climbed in 1 month. At this point in my athlete pursuits, I was 100% confident this was going to be the effort that puts my name on the map and give me a real opportunity at becoming a paid athlete. I went into the month hard and came out beat up but successfull. It was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life. For 31 days I power hiked up and ran down Granuer Peak in Salt Lake City for 8-12 hours a day. The bodily pain I felt was the worst I have ever felt. But, like I said before I never wanted to feel the way I did after quitting BUDS in Hell week. That mindset is what got me through the month. Mentally I had to overcome very difficult hardship and physically I had to keep my body together.

The confidence I had in my decision, or should I say “risk” was so strong that I knew this was the way. I quit a full-time job (after saving up some money) to take on this challenge and ultimately change my life for the better. Again, I don’t want to think “what if”.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
You’re headed to Breckenridge in 1 week?! Sweet! I have a plan for us. Day 1 I would suggest an easy hike or MTB ride along the foothills of Bald Mtn and French Creek. After sweating a bit and checking out some awesome views while doing our favorite activities we would hop down into town and grab a cup of Soupz On for lunch. After another day or two of acclimating to the altitude we would go check out the local 14er Quandary. We are going to get up high for a few hours and look around from the perspective of 14,000ft up. Afterwards we are going to head back into town and stop over at BreakFast for Brunch/Lunch and I’m going to order a Quandary. Obviously because we just climbed Quandary! Good thing you decided to visit the week of July 4th. Guess what?! We are headed up to ski for the 4th of July Peak 10 classic. Get ready for a summer ski party! It’s going to be a rock’n week no matter what. For dinner we would have to go the easy route and snag a pizza and calzone from Giampietros.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d would like to shoutout 3 groups/people for helping me get to where I’m at. 1. I would like to shoutout the U.S. Navy for giving me the opportunity at going through BUDS in an attempt to become a Navy Seal. Without going and giving that a shot I would never have the mindset and work ethic that I do now. The biggest lesson I learned is that I can do whatever I want in this life as long as I put forth the effort to make it happen. Which in some cases means 100% dedication.

2. I’d like to shoutout my parents and immediate family for always believing in me and supporting my decisions and goals in the mountains and my athlete career. I definitely took the non-standard path compared to the majority of my peers growing up. Which ties back into the “Risk Taking” category.

3. I want to give a huge shoutout to Rab Equipment for giving me the chance at becoming a Mountain Athlete for their brand. They are the first real company to give me a shot and also giving me the tools/gear and funds to be successfull in the missions I complete in the Mountains.

Instagram: @chrisjfish

Other: https://www.trailrunnermag.com/people/how-chris-fisher-logged-400000-feet-of-vert-in-october/

Image Credits
The first one was taken by Gabriel Rovick – @gabriel_rovick (instagram) The next set are all done by Keith Fearnow – @fearnowka (instagram)