The Mountains Choose You: Araceli Segarra on Adventure & Resilience | Shekhar Natarajan

Tomorrow, Today

In this inspiring episode of 'Tomorrow Today,' legendary mountaineer Araceli Segarra shares her transformative journey from a childhood fear

Key takeaways

The true victory in climbing is not reaching the summit, but becoming the person you were meant to be.
Fear can be transformed into a guiding force when embraced with intention and presence.

Main topics

Mountaineering as a metaphor for life
Overcoming fear and embracing uncertainty

Notable quotes

The important thing is not reaching the summit, it's the person you became.

I feel like God has given me this gift to keep defeating death.

Conclusion

Araceli Segarra's story underscores that true adventure lies not in conquer

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) The important thing is not reaching the summit, it's the person you became. Speaker 2 (0:18) I feel like God has given me this gift to keep defeating death. Speaker 1 (0:31) When I'm climbing, I don't need to fake. We're Speaker 2 (0:40) all going through something turbulent in our life, events that redefine us. Speaker 1 (0:51) I picturize that in some way we are all alpinists of life. Speaker 2 (1:25) Welcome to yet another episode of Tomorrow Today with Shekhar Natarajan. It's my real honor to actually have Araceli Segarra. She's the first... person to actually climb Mount Everest and Spaniard, first Spaniard to do that. Her life story is like simply superb, amazing, beautiful person. And I want you all to get to know her just like the way I'm excited to know you too. So with that, Araceli. Speaker 2 (2:07) Peace. Welcome to the show. Speaker 1 (2:09) Thank you so much. Actually, it's my honor after seeing all the things you have achieved. I think this is going to be very interesting. Speaker 2 (2:20) I haven't achieved as much as you did. But I was so looking forward to it because... I think your life and who you are as a person, how you have processed life in general is going to be a source of inspiration for many because we are all going through something turbulent in our life, events that redefine us and the resilience, courage, risk-taking that comes so naturally to you. I want everyone to embody that beautiful spirit. So like, you know, that's why I was very excited, very, very excited when I got to know that like you're going to be on the show. Speaker 1 (3:08) Well, the truth is that I consider and I picturize that in some way we are all alpinists of life. As you said, we all go through same, let's say expeditions in life. Speaker 2 (3:27) We Speaker 1 (3:28) have projects. We have hopes. Sometimes we have fears. Sometimes we go, and nowadays even more, through uncertainty. We have people that inspire us. There's moments that we lose. hope and so on, so on. So we all claim mountains. I Speaker 2 (3:54) think one thing that we should never lose is the soul. Speaker 1 (3:59) Yeah, but I agree that we approach things with that inner energy and Speaker 1 (4:15) Maybe with all the culture that we belong. And even sometimes with the ancestors' concepts on your genes. Speaker 2 (4:32) Like Speaker 1 (4:32) things that we do and we don't know what we do it. But I also think that situations and... obstacles that we find on our way sometimes can redefine who Speaker 2 (4:53) we are who Speaker 1 (4:53) we are yeah awesome Speaker 2 (4:55) so before we get to mount everest before uh we talk about um you know your um You know, the very tragic incident that happened while you were climbing and the rescue operations and other things. I want to get to know you as a person. Catalonian girl overseeing the Pyrenees and basically climbing the mountains all day long. So I wanted to get the soul of who you are. Like what? Like, you know, tell me, like, take yourself back to when you were like four or five years old and tell me like, what was your life like? You know, who's your family? How was your upbringing? Why did you start like, you know, fascination for, you know, climbing? And I'm just like, so curious about you. Speaker 1 (6:00) You know, I belong to a very middle family, not having a lot of luxuries. But at the same time, I think that because we didn't have luxuries, we didn't have boundaries. It's like anything can be possible. Speaker 1 (6:26) And I was, and I'm still a very shy person. It doesn't mean that you cannot develop some skills to survive. But I always was very curious and stubborn. Speaker 2 (6:47) Where does that come from, your mom or your dad? Speaker 1 (6:50) I don't know. I have no idea. Speaker 1 (6:57) I was afraid of dark, of darkness. I was really, I have a really deep, frightening feeling for darkness. And maybe because of that, I was attracted to it. And that's a very weird thing because I was trying different sports when I was really a kid. Speaker 1 (7:25) Athletism, like jumping, like doing canoeing, all kind of stuff until I discovered spelunking. And my brother was letting me to do a course, which was getting into the darkness, the deepest darkness of a cave. And because that loving... For the things you hate. I was just immediately connected to the outdoors through one of my deepest fears. But the thing is that I overcome that fear after like the whole month that that course was teaching me how to deal inside the cage with robes and all that stuff. And I got just passionate about the outdoors and about the concept of adventure and overcoming all your fears. Speaker 1 (8:36) From doing that sports on the Pyrenees, being free because, you know, my family was like, my parents were working all day. So you don't have those helicopter fathers, you know, the ones that are controlling you and knowing what you're doing all day, teaching you or letting you know or telling you what you shouldn't be doing. Speaker 2 (9:05) So we had no boundaries whatsoever. Speaker 1 (9:07) Exactly. And in one hand, you know, my generation. Speaker 1 (9:14) We have some, the lack of some, let's say, connection with our parents. But on the other hand, we have the freedom because nobody was telling us to do this. It's too dangerous. So I'm balancing those two things, but I'm really thankful to belong to that generation. Because I was able to explore and try things that otherwise. Speaker 2 (9:48) It's very difficult. Speaker 1 (9:50) Yeah. Speaker 2 (9:51) Very interesting because like, you know, we share some commonality there at SLA. So like, I come from a very humble family too. And the thing that I used to love the most. Speaker 2 (10:14) is basically spending time with my father and my father's time was very like it was a small window of time I could like spend time with him right you know you would he would leave at 6 a.m in the morning on a cycle go for work and then come back at like 8 8 30 in the night and and then he would like he had this ritual like you know he would come and then he would take a shower, go to the temple, come back. Then I get to spend like that nine to nine 30 or nine 30 to 10 o'clock window. And I used to sit on his lap and we used to, uh, you know, you could literally see like the moon from the house and then like you talk. That was the happiest thing I had in my, in my memory. And my, my mom, uh, used to work for a newspaper company. Speaker 2 (11:09) And she was not educated as such. Not a lot. So she used to wrap newspaper for the next day delivery. They would like print and cut and like, you know, and then she would, like, you know, she would prepare it for the next day. And so I could see my mom and I would be playing on the streets, like, you know, free will. Like I used to play with tires, with junk, Speaker 1 (11:41) you know, Speaker 2 (11:43) like scrap metal, all of that. And then I used to, like trying to go for a treasure hunt with like the kids in the slum and then like all of that. And then I would see my mom from a distance, you know, she would be, you know, obviously like, you know, she would walk and you could see her at a distance. And then I would run like, crazy fast um calling my mother's name out and then like running into into the house because for the longest time i thought my grandmother is my mother and my mother is like she's like my sister like oh Speaker 1 (12:23) yeah Speaker 2 (12:23) something like that like you know like so i used to call her by the name so Speaker 1 (12:27) um Speaker 2 (12:28) uh and then i used to like i used to run literally to the house and then like i would pull my book um and my brothers would be sitting and studying and i would have my book upside down Speaker 1 (12:41) pretending pretending Speaker 2 (12:43) that i'm studying and uh and then like she would like come right by and then she would say okay I think this is how you study and Speaker 1 (12:54) she didn't punish you you know one of my memories did you say that and remind me um Speaker 1 (13:04) It's been just a few times because my mother was all day away working. And I remember sitting in the balcony. Speaker 2 (13:16) Waiting for her. Speaker 1 (13:17) No, on our little apartment in a raining day. And my mom was at home. Speaker 2 (13:25) And Speaker 1 (13:26) she and I, we were sitting on a chair, eating a sandwich. In Speaker 2 (13:33) the rain. Speaker 1 (13:35) looking at the rain outside and before back then there were not buildings in front of my house on that apartment and we could see the Pyrenees from home I mean they are far away but we still could see it Speaker 2 (13:54) after that Speaker 1 (13:56) they were building apartments and the view was completely black but you just see that And it reminds me like a few moments, a few memories, like sitting on the balcony on a reading day, eating a sandwich with my mom. And that's one of the nicest memories because they were never at home. Yeah, Speaker 2 (14:21) they were never at home. And like, you know, I think that's the beauty of what mom and dad do to you, right? Like so, and like to your point, like because you don't have luxury. you know there's no boundary to what you could do but Speaker 1 (14:36) in the other hand that was teaching me also to work hard for the things you want like I don't know about you, but I couldn't get the things I wanted simply because I want them because they were not able, able to give them to me. If you want something, you're going to earn it. Speaker 2 (15:00) Yeah. Speaker 1 (15:01) And, um, I thanks my parents for that. Speaker 2 (15:07) Yeah. Yeah. Like, you know, so like, you know, we used to have, uh, um, Growing up, we used to have very few pairs of clothes that we would wear. And everyone... So in those days, also in India, we used to stitch out of a piece of cloth. Like you'd take it to a local tailor and they would stitch. And so every one of our... Like I have two siblings and all of us used to dress up the same way. Speaker 1 (15:34) The Speaker 2 (15:35) same color, the same shirt, the same pants, right? Like, you know, the same trousers. And like one used to be taller, one used to be shorter. So like, you know, someone's trouser was longer, someone's trouser was shorter. So it's all like funny. But like, you know, like I look back at all those memories, it's like fantastic and fascinating. But those are beautiful memories. And like, you know, to your point, the reason why I bring up the book story is like, I got fascinated about sitting and studying because of that. Like, you know, I would see, I would run and fear. And then like, you know, I didn't know what else to do. I know like, you know, she would love seeing me study and I would sit and study. And, um, then that sort of became my mental model. Like, you know, like I want to please my mom and mom needs to see me study, Speaker 1 (16:20) you know? Speaker 2 (16:21) And so I got like very much into education and like, you know, how I trained myself through education. Um, so we all have our, you know, formative days and their experiences that actually define who we are. Very beautiful story. I love what you said. Um, so now, uh, let's basically, uh, go back to the, um, the, uh, the age from where you were to then becoming who you were as an adult as a teen and an adult like how was that transition like you know like so you said you were stubborn you said like you know you wanted like to explore the outdoors you know darkness was a fear but you had to overcome the fear and that like you know you started loving the nature because of that so what happens after that like tell me like how did you prepare yourself um Speaker 1 (17:13) you know Climbing, it's not something that I choose. I would say the mountains choose me. Speaker 2 (17:29) How Speaker 1 (17:30) did Speaker 2 (17:31) you feel that? Speaker 1 (17:34) It's kind of weird to explain. But I guess there's more people who have that kind of feeling. Speaker 1 (17:52) When I'm climbing, I don't need to fake. And we all fake. More or less. Like, we hide. Yeah. I'm shy. And I'm hiding that. When I'm on a mountain, I Speaker 2 (18:13) don't Speaker 1 (18:13) need to hide anything. Like, for me, there's not a better place. to just enjoy and release and grow and test and learn. I mean, it's the place I belong. Speaker 2 (18:42) So how, so how is that? Like, how do you, what is the feeling inside when you, when you have that? Like, what do you feel? Speaker 1 (18:50) That I can try and fail. Speaker 1 (18:58) And that's Speaker 2 (18:59) when you feel like you're with something. Speaker 1 (19:02) When I'm climbing, I can try things and I can fail. Yeah. And as I said before, I don't need to fake. I don't need to cover, use makeup. I say it in a metaphorical way. Because nature is not judging you. Speaker 2 (19:23) Yeah. And Speaker 1 (19:24) society, it is constantly. Speaker 1 (19:28) In a lower or in a higher lip. You know what I mean, right? Speaker 2 (19:38) We are so right. And like, you know, and we, we, we fall victim to how people judge you. Because sometimes when the closest one judge you or your friends judge you and they, you know, that is not who you are or you feel that is not who you are. We play the Speaker 1 (19:58) game. Speaker 2 (19:58) And you're projecting that like, and then they like, you know, you feel sad or you feel like you played a game. So it's sort of a self-validation theory. Speaker 1 (20:07) I mean, there's not many, many people you can be surrounded with that you just stop faking like when I'm climbing. Speaker 2 (20:20) Do you always, do you think people always fake around people? yeah mostly yeah Speaker 1 (20:26) yeah Speaker 2 (20:27) real Speaker 1 (20:27) thick so Speaker 2 (20:28) what what about like people who say like you know i have deep friendship with this person i feel like i can talk to them anything are they lying Speaker 1 (20:36) it's not i i don't think it's like conscious lying Speaker 2 (20:49) This is unconscious. Speaker 1 (20:50) Yeah, it's like the role we are growing with. It's like I feel myself pretty confident. I don't need to hide anything. I don't earn. I had no debts, metaphorically speaking. Speaker 1 (21:20) Somehow it's like somebody asks you, how are you? Maybe I'm not in Speaker 2 (21:26) a Speaker 1 (21:27) very best mood. Speaker 2 (21:29) But you say I'm good. Speaker 1 (21:30) And say, it's not because I want to fake it. Sometimes it's like, well, let's bring the spirit up. The way I talk to myself, Speaker 2 (21:41) it's Speaker 1 (21:42) important too. But the truth, if we were like being honest, I will say, you know. Today, everything sucks. Like, you don't want to keep going. But you don't say that. So from the point you do that, you're faking. Speaker 2 (22:00) So, because that's the distinction I wanted to draw. Like, you know, people often confuse comfort with confidence. Speaker 1 (22:09) Right? Speaker 2 (22:10) So you're comfortable around people, but you gain confidence in your true passion of what you do. Right? Speaker 1 (22:17) Yeah. Speaker 2 (22:19) And that's sort of like a blurred line that like, you know, we somehow like assign, we say, hey, like, you know, that comfort feels like, you know, they're one among stars and like, you know, we are not faking, but we're deeply, we're actually faking. And then the confidence is like when you feel like you're part of something and you belong and you don't have to like re-express yourself. Speaker 1 (22:41) That's the... Speaker 2 (22:43) The fine line. Speaker 1 (22:44) Yeah, the fine line that is, you know, sometimes they ask you, why are you climbing? And, well, I got to say that, of course, because that's where I belong, because I can release my soul. But the truth is that also it's like it's been changing the answer. The answer for that when I was a teenager, it was not the same answer that when I was an adult. And it's not the same answer that when I'm aging. Of course, there is a common link, but it's developing. And that's an interesting also feeling. Speaker 1 (23:40) Not being always the same boring person. Like I climbed because that reason and always staying on the same state. Developing, changing, adapting, being flexible to your soul, exploring. It's part of the magic of being alive. Speaker 2 (24:06) So then you transitioned to become a physiotherapist and then climbing was your passion. Speaker 1 (24:12) Yeah. I got to study something. Speaker 2 (24:15) Why? Speaker 1 (24:18) Because of my family also. Nobody has a degree. So you need to please your parents somehow. But I never stopped. being like dual, like, okay, I can go to school, but I can also do my passion. And, well, it was a kind of a balance for a time, but then... You Speaker 2 (24:52) cannot be a physiotherapist and then be a climber. Yeah, Speaker 1 (24:54) you have to take a decision and put your energy in where you are good at. Speaker 2 (25:02) Got it. But like, how do you balance that with livelihood? Because physiotherapy is like you keeping you alive because you got to eat, you got to sleep. Speaker 1 (25:13) And Speaker 2 (25:14) then if you're just climbing, you cannot eat nature. You can. You cannot Speaker 1 (25:19) eat rocks. Some people think we can't, but no. Speaker 2 (25:22) Or like snow. Speaker 1 (25:24) Yeah. Speaker 2 (25:25) Well, Speaker 1 (25:25) when you're young, you survive with... Very little. Yeah, you don't need much. And if you're sharing apartments and all that stuff. But I was very young, just barely finishing school when I got that proposition to do an IMAX documentary to climb Everest. I was very, very young. Speaker 1 (25:55) I take the opportunity. Why Speaker 2 (26:00) did they choose you? Like, you're not a camera. Speaker 1 (26:08) No, no. They want me to be... On the Speaker 2 (26:12) crew. Speaker 1 (26:12) On the film crew, but in front of the camera. Speaker 1 (26:18) You know, I was on Everest in 1995. I was trying to climb the north side of Everest. What age were you at that time? I was 25. Speaker 2 (26:29) 25. When did you finish your physiotherapy? Speaker 1 (26:34) I was finishing back then. Yeah, at that time. And we were trying a very difficult line with a very demanding style, which was Alpine style. We wanted to climb the Horbin Cool War to Everest without oxygen, without fixed lines and without a sure bus. Speaker 2 (26:59) Is this the 8,000 feet peak that you