
#29: Summitting Everest and a Case for Adventure | Dr. Jon Kedrowski
Two Percent with Michael EasterShow Notes
Most people will never even think about climbing Mount Everest. Dr. Jon Kedrowski has been on seven Everest expeditions and reached the summit four times. Along the way he survived the 2015 earthquake that killed 20 people in front of him at base camp, a storm that killed seven climbers on the night of his first summit push, and a lightning strike that destroyed his tent on a Colorado peak while he slept on the summit. Jon sat down with Michael to explain his Everest Ready philosophy: build a body and a mindset that could take on the hardest thing imaginable at any moment. When you put yourself into hard challenges again and again, suddenly the everyday small stuff stops rattling you.They get into how he decides when to walk away from a mountain (including a deadly K2 winter expedition), why traffic jams have become Everest's real danger, and why a first ascent of an untouched peak felt better than reaching the top of the world. Two Percent is hosted by Michael Easter. Today’s episode was produced by Joey Fischground, Robbie Hiser, Dana Brawer and Julia Nutter. From Kaleidoscope, our executive producers are Mangesh Hattikudur and Kate Osborn and Julia Nutter. From iHeart, our executive producers are Katrina Norvell and Nikki Ettore. Our Head of Video is Maria Paz Mendez Hodes. This episode was edited by Ryan Mulhern. Our theme music is by the Heater Manager. GET A FREE GUIDE TO EXAMPLES OF MISOGI. GO TO https://www.twopct.com AND ENTER YOUR EMAIL. I share similar insights around health and wellness here:https://substack.com/@michaeleasterhttps://instagram.com/michael_easter/https://linkedin.com/in/michael-easter-b208848/https://facebook.com/easter.michaelhttps://tiktok.com/@michael_easter6https://x.com/Michael_Easter Chapters:00:00 Cold open01:52 "Because it's there" is BS02:51 The first ascent that beat Everest04:46 Stop putting off your own projects08:19 Seven expeditions, four summits10:18 The Everest Ready mindset13:39 Walks that make people open up15:19 Patience and character on expeditions17:59 Making 3,100 hard miles fun21:31 Every Colorado 14er by 1825:00 FKTs and the outdoor pissing contest28:47 The earthquake that changed everything30:53 Seven died on his first summit push34:35 Walking away from K240:30 Why K2 is harder than Everest42:45 Navigation is good for your brain46:05 Lightning struck his tent48:25 A meteorologist on Everest50:46 Is Everest getting safer or deadlier?53:09 Traffic jams in the death zone57:18 Train mountains with mountains58:53 The ideal mountaineer's build01:00:56 Expedition eating01:04:46 Always say yes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Two Percent with Michael Easter
Up to half of Americans say their sleep is bad, and the rules for fixing it keep piling up. Michael speaks with David Samson, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Toronto and author of The Sleepless Ape, about why modern people sleep longer and better than hunter-gatherers yet worry about it far more, why our body clocks are the real mismatch, top sleep myths, and which sleep advice is worth following. They discuss:
Most of us avoid anything we might fail at. Michael speaks with Dr. Marcus Elliott about Misogi, his yearly challenge with about a 50 percent chance of failure, and why we overestimate the cost of failing, the benefits of Misogi, and what the data on elite athletes still can't measure. In addition to creating the modern Misogi, Marcus founded P3, the world's top sports science lab. They discuss:
Brian Driscoll became acting director of the FBI through what he believes was a clerical error in 2025. He was then asked to hand over the names of thousands of FBI employees who worked the January 6 investigations, which would have placed their careers and safety in jeopardy. He resisted and became a legend in the bureau. Brian told Michael what pushing back cost him, and why he calls "it is what it is" the most accepted form of surrender. They discussed:
Michael speaks with Harvard evolutionary biologist Dan Lieberman, author of Fed Up. They talked about how humans didn't evolve to think about what to eat, the history of food and humans, what Dan learned trying popular diets for the book, biggest diet myths, and where Dan lands on exercise and weight loss. They covered:
A lot of us think of quitting as a path to failure. Michael speaks with Lindsay Crouse, the former New York Times writer, editor and producer, lifelong distance runner and author of The Case for Quitting, about when perseverance backfires, how to tell meaningful suffering from the pointless kind, and the signs it's time to walk away. They discuss: