������ý

0:00 Hello and welcome to degrees of success. 0:02 My name is Keith Chandler and I'm honored to be your new host. 0:07 Success to me has always been shaped by curiosity, the belief that every experience, every conversation and every challenge is an opportunity to learn. 0:17 I joined ������ý in 2025 and I have the privilege to serve as an events manager for commencement ceremonies. 0:24 Watching graduates walk across the stage surrounded by family, friends, and 0:29 pride and perseverance never gets old. 0:31 This podcast is my opportunity to hear the stories behind that walk. 0:36 My goal as a host, it's simple. 0:38 Create a welcoming space where alumni can share their journeys and inspire our listeners to take their next step, whatever that might be. 0:46 Welcome to degrees of success.

Chapter 1: The Journey Begins: Overcoming Adversity 0:07 You live and die by the decisions you make. I’m wired to push beyond my limits — never give up. 0:16 I was at the highest point in the world, alone, and blind. 0:53 When you grow up, you can’t choose your family or the situations you’re in, so you’re out of control. There’s no plan B. 1:01 When you come from a chaotic environment, you’re never going to quit. 1:06 A lot of people who go through that end up unconsciously seeking it out — getting into special operations and high-altitude mountaineering, putting themselves in those scenarios so they can finally have control. 1:24 That red zone — you’re always heightened and on. My grandpa really filled the gap of the father figure I didn’t have. 1:36 He was in the Navy during World War II, manning the guns and shooting down planes and suicide bombers. 1:44 The Navy back then was intense. One of their supply ships got sunk. They had no food and the whole ship was starving. 1:51 When he got back stateside, he went straight to a store, bought a head of lettuce, sat on the curb, and ate it. 2:05 General Douglas MacArthur had been appointed to receive the unconditional surrender of Japan. 2:13 Back then, public displays of affection weren’t common, but he sought out his childhood sweetheart — my grandma — and kissed her. My grandparents modeled a great love story. 2:24 My grandpa being there was amazing. 2:31 He taught me golf. He taught me unconditional love, which I’d never really experienced before. 2:40 He was that rock throughout my childhood. Chapter 2: Family Influence and Personal Growth 2:50 My grandma was always around and present, but she eventually passed away from cancer. 2:56 While she was dealing with cancer, I stayed with her a lot. 3:03 That’s a lot for a kid to witness. My grandpa struggled with alcoholism, but when he was most influential in my life, he didn’t drink at all. 3:13 After my grandma passed, he fell off the wagon, and I saw a completely different side of him. It was heartbreaking. 3:21 Later, while I was in SAR school, he found out he had cancer. 3:28 I took emergency leave and came home to see him. The last thing he told me was that he was proud of me and that he knew what I was going through was tough. 3:38 He told me to be the best I could be. I carried that back with me and used it to get through the training. 3:50 Coming from a military family, I never really thought I’d join the military myself. 3:56 But I wanted to do something bigger than myself and serve. 4:03 My dad served in Vietnam as a jet mechanic. 4:10 He told me not to just enlist without purpose. At that point, I wanted to be either a pilot or a Navy SEAL. 4:17 I went into the recruiter’s office, looked at all the options, and remember seeing rescue swimmers getting picked up. I thought it looked incredible. 4:26 A SAR swimmer is a search-and-rescue swimmer — the men and women who jump from helicopters to rescue downed pilots or civilians in emergencies. 4:40 After boot camp, I went to Pensacola, Florida for aircrew school. It was brutal. 4:46 We’d wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning for intense pool training. 4:52 The whole point was to weed out the people who only thought the job sounded cool from the people who could actually do it. 5:00 You’re pushed to the brink of drowning every day, but the goal is to remain calm in chaos so you can save lives. 5:10 We were trained never to panic because we’d literally be jumping into the ocean from helicopters to rescue people. 5:20 It could be a downed pilot, refugees from a sinking boat — anything. 5:28 This is my flight jacket. It was issued in 1993. 5:34 On average, I’d lose about two aircrew swimmers I knew every year in helicopter crashes. 5:42 Our squadron once had to recover bodies from a burned helicopter crash in Southern California. 5:47 Those experiences stack up, but at the time I kept them locked away. 5:56 You compartmentalize it all. You’re constantly operating in that red zone. Chapter 3: Military Experience and Its Impact 6:05 You’re always heightened and alert. I didn’t unpack those experiences for many years. 6:14 Instead, I got into high-altitude mountaineering — almost unconsciously adding more trauma on top of trauma. 6:33 After my first deployment to the Persian Gulf, I came home and met my wife, Joanna. 6:42 We dated for six years before getting married. During that time, I deployed again, which was really hard on us. 6:52 We got married in 2001. Joanna was accepted into the University of Washington for a master’s degree in social work. 7:01 I was taking classes too and preparing to leave the military. I wanted my degree. 7:07 I earned a bachelor’s degree in information technology. 7:13 Then I decided I wanted a master’s degree too. No one in my family had ever earned one. 7:17 I researched programs and found the ������ý’s online MBA program, specializing in technology management. 7:27 One thing I appreciated was that many of the instructors were actively working in the industries they taught. 7:36 You could tell the difference — they had real-world experience. 7:45 I had a really positive experience at the ������ý. 7:51 After graduating, I eventually became an instructor there. 7:57 I taught business ethics for five years. 8:03 Those classroom discussions with students from different backgrounds and generations were incredibly fulfilling. 8:13 I learned just as much from them as they learned from me. 8:22 A few months before climbing Everest, ������ý did a photo shoot and article about me called Seven Summits, One Goal. 8:31 I ended up on the cover of ������ý Focus Magazine. 8:41 At that point, I was working in tech, had my MBA, and Joanna and I had children. Chapter 4: Climbing the Seven Summits: A New Challenge 8:50 One day I was jumping out of helicopters, and the next I was living this very responsible life. 9:00 But I realized there was an adventure gap in my life. 9:10 Living in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by mountains, I started climbing. 9:19 I climbed Mount Rainier, took mountaineering courses, and eventually decided to climb the highest peak on each continent. 9:31 My wife’s immediate response was, “Does that include Everest?” 9:39 I said yes — Everest is one of the seven summits. 9:49 You don’t just show up and climb Everest. There are over 300 bodies on the mountain, and every one tells a different story. 10:00 Training becomes a lifestyle. 10:07 I’d wake up at 3 or 4 a.m., load 60 or 70 pounds into a pack, and climb mountains around the Pacific Northwest. 10:17 Those hikes were often eight miles round trip. 10:22 That’s the physical side. There’s also the emotional discipline and mental preparation. 10:32 There’s so much involved in even attempting Everest. 10:43 Once I commit to a goal, I’m all in. 10:55 Mount Everest stands 29,035 feet high. 11:07 Above a certain altitude, humans can’t survive long-term, which is why the climb takes two months — you have to acclimate. 11:16 It’s 38 miles just to reach base camp at 17,500 feet. 11:24 From there, things become much more serious. 11:32 The first major obstacle is the Khumbu Icefall — constantly shifting, building-sized blocks of ice. 11:41 This is where climbers cross bottomless crevasses on ladders tied together with rope. 11:50 I had to pass through the Khumbu Icefall about eight times just to acclimate. 12:00 You climb up to Camp One, come back down, rest for days, and repeat the process. Chapter 5: The Everest Expedition: Preparation and Challenges 12:10 Climbing these mountains requires enormous patience. 12:17 I climbed with a Sherpa friend named Pasang, who already had several Everest summits. 12:24 He was incredibly strong and experienced, though we were often separated during the climb. 12:34 After the Khumbu Icefall comes Camp One at 19,000 feet and then the Western Cwm. 12:45 Beyond that lies Advanced Base Camp at 21,000 feet. 12:51 That’s where the true climbing begins. 12:56 You ascend the Lhotse Face — a steep wall of ice, snow, and rock. 13:04 Lhotse is the fourth-highest mountain in the world, and climbers pass over it to reach the South Col, the highest camp on Earth. 13:12 You’re always clipped into ropes. 13:14 If you fall while attached, you stop at the next anchor. If you fall unclipped, it’s over. 13:25 On summit day, winds reached 70 miles per hour. 13:35 A famous Japanese climber died that same night near the South Summit. 13:42 ������ý 1,000 feet above Camp Three, I stopped and removed my goggles and oxygen mask. 13:50 My foot slipped, and as I grabbed the rope, my goggles slid off my arm and fell. 14:06 I thought it was over because eye protection is essential. 14:15 Fortunately, some Sherpas had stopped the goggles from falling further. 14:24 When I retrieved them, they were cracked. I removed the internal lens without realizing it reduced their protection dramatically. 14:30 I continued climbing and reached high camp later that afternoon. 14:43 That night, Pasang and I prepared for the summit push. 14:53 ������ý an hour separated us during the climb, which worried me. Chapter 6: The Summit: Triumph and Trials 15:01 At 27,500 feet, I was the highest person on Earth in that moment. 15:10 Pasang eventually caught up, but he became sick and vomited after drinking water. 15:18 I suggested we turn around. 15:27 But he insisted he was okay, and I trusted his experience. 15:38 At around 28,000 feet, he finally turned back and told me to continue alone. 15:47 I evaluated the situation carefully. 15:54 I felt strong. The weather was stable. 16:03 So I continued upward alone through the death zone. 16:14 At one point, I saw Everest’s perfect pyramid shadow cast across the Himalayas at sunrise. 16:25 It was one of the most extraordinary things I’ve ever witnessed. 16:41 Eventually I reached the South Summit and then the Hillary Step — a narrow, exposed rock climb with massive drops on both sides. 16:58 I moved slowly and carefully. 17:09 Finally, I could see the true summit. 17:24 I stepped onto the summit and took it all in. 17:37 I radioed down: “This is Brian checking in from the summit of Everest.” Chapter 7: The Descent: Facing the Unknown 17:54 A friend radioed back, congratulated me, and reminded us to be careful descending. 18:02 That’s when everyone realized I was completely alone. 18:11 They estimated it would take me two to three hours to descend. No one heard from me for seven. 18:32 You spend years preparing to stand on top of the world, but you can only remain there briefly. 18:52 I started heading down. 19:07 Within minutes, everything turned white. I had gone snow blind. 19:16 The sunlight reflecting off the ice burned my corneas. 19:23 I dropped to my knees, holding onto the rope. 19:33 I was alone, blind, at the highest point on Earth. 19:42 But I got up and kept moving. 19:54 Whenever the wind gusted, I lowered myself and waited it out before taking another step. 20:14 At the Hillary Step, I began rappelling down and slipped, slamming into the mountain. 20:27 Later, I slipped again near the South Summit and fell violently against the rope. 20:35 The rope burned through my gloves, ripped my oxygen mask off, and nearly tore my oxygen bottle from my pack. Chapter 8: Aftermath and Reflection 20:54 I finally stabilized myself and slowed my breathing. 21:01 It was the most terrifying experience of my life. 21:08 Eventually I reached the point where Pasang had left extra oxygen. 21:17 For some reason, I grabbed the spare bottle. 21:28 Moments later, my own oxygen ran out. 21:38 After 33 hours of climbing blind, I collapsed to my knees and prayed. 21:49 Then I tried the backup oxygen bottle and got airflow. 21:59 It felt like fire rushing back into my veins. 22:03 I continued rappelling down until I reached the South Col. 22:15 Out of nowhere, Pasang hugged me and said, “Brian, you’re alive.” 22:24 I passed out for 15 hours. My eyes were sealed shut, and I had lost 20 pounds in a single day. 22:35 Eventually we descended to Camp Two, where I called Joanna on a satellite phone. 22:45 I told her I had soloed the summit and gone blind. 22:55 (Joanna speaking) I got the call: “I’m blind. I summited.” Then the line went dead. 23:00 I didn’t know if he’d be blind forever or never see our children again. 23:12 Thankfully, he called again 24 hours later. 23:23 When he finally reached base camp, we cried together over the phone. 23:32 I’m grateful I survived. 23:44 Between military service, helicopter rescues, mountaineering, and trauma, I’ve put my body and mind through a lot. 23:55 I’m not trying to top what I’ve already done. 23:59 I feel incredibly blessed to still be here and in a healthier place now. 24:07 I’ve written books and given keynote talks. 24:19 There’s a lot of humility in standing on stage and realizing people connect deeply with your story. 24:29 At the end of the day, I’m just Brian — someone who went through an extraordinary experience and is grateful to share it.