1 hr 11 min
3#07 Maria Granberg: expedition climber, therapist and resident of ‘the pain cave’ Mountain Air
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- Wilderness
> Find galleries, blog posts and many more episodes at www.mountainairpodcast.uk
“My strength is my curiosity, and being pretty good at suffering”
Episode 3#07 sits down with mountaineer, therapist and motivational speaker Maria Granberg, whose achievements so far include: climbing Manaslu (8,163m), and becoming only the second Swedish woman to summit Everest (8,848m) via its North Face.
However, it’s the work that Maria undertakes off the mountain that truly defines her character on it. As a behavioural scientist, she has an abiding interest in how each of us faces suffering, learns to confront our fears, and masters that ever-elusive goal of being “present” in any given moment. These are themes that Maria routinely encounters on her expeditions, which include such challenges as: severe and consistent sleep deprivation, migraines, cramping muscles and a failing digestive system, as well as cognitive impairment from oxygen deprivation - a list of disturbing hardships which she handily condenses into the phrase: “the pain cave”.
Yet, to hear Maria speak about her experiences above 7,000m of altitude (much of which is spent deep inside “the cave”) is to encounter a charming dissonance: she often smiles as she describes them. In this interview, she shares her journey to become the expedition climber that she is today, which includes enduring the stress and competition of teenage athletics, living amongst alcohol abuse, overcoming deep depression, and being rescued from it all by the discovery of thin air and high altitude on Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro (5,892m).
Since that point her love of high and remote places has taken her back to Africa to lead climbs, on a “month-long sufferfest in Kyrgyzstan” (in which she lost 15kg but gained some of the most enduring memories of her life), to pursue qualification and to help heal others as a professional psychotherapist, and to discovery humility, “sheer presence” and the art of “blissful dissatisfaction” in all the places she’s discovered along the way.
> www.mariagranberg.se
> https://www.instagram.com/granbergadventureathlete/
Listen, enjoy, tell your friends, subscribe to the podcast if you get and chance, and thank UKHillwalking.com for their kind support of this series!
[episode recorded on 29/04/24]
00:00 - Introduction
04:50 - Welcome, moving to the mountains, outdoor life in the town of Åre (“the Swedish Tahoe”)
06:53 - Growing up a swimmer and “outdoor kid” in a 250-person mining village (“I didn’t know a single person who did mountaineering, or had even climbed a mountain”), using athletics to “grow and learn” as a teenager and young person. Getting derailed by severe depression. Moving to Tanzania and discovering climbing on Kilimanjaro
10:13 - “Something clicked, and when I came back home I got obsessed with high altitude”
11:06 - Being a sensitive child: “I have a very close relationship with my fears. I get adrenaline very, very easily”. Tackling fears through repetitive exposure: “I couldn’t accept the fact of a feeling holding me back from something that I wanted to do”
14:38 - The pressure of “striving to become the next version of yourself”, to prove yourself all the time. Growing up amongst alcohol abuse, and developing eating issues. Using sports and performance to “compensate for not having a deeper sense of self, and value of self”
19:53 - “I knew what pushing myself really hard felt like, because I had done that most of my life. But entering high altitude… reluctantly you have to shed all ego and enter a space in yourself which is more about surrendering. It was new to me, and I liked not having the control”
22:08 - “It was one of the most humbling experiences I’ve ever had, and a coming home to sheer presence”
23:03 - “It was excruciating” (with a smile)
23:55 - “My strength is my curiosity, and being pretty good at suffering. I like the suffering. I like when I g
> Find galleries, blog posts and many more episodes at www.mountainairpodcast.uk
“My strength is my curiosity, and being pretty good at suffering”
Episode 3#07 sits down with mountaineer, therapist and motivational speaker Maria Granberg, whose achievements so far include: climbing Manaslu (8,163m), and becoming only the second Swedish woman to summit Everest (8,848m) via its North Face.
However, it’s the work that Maria undertakes off the mountain that truly defines her character on it. As a behavioural scientist, she has an abiding interest in how each of us faces suffering, learns to confront our fears, and masters that ever-elusive goal of being “present” in any given moment. These are themes that Maria routinely encounters on her expeditions, which include such challenges as: severe and consistent sleep deprivation, migraines, cramping muscles and a failing digestive system, as well as cognitive impairment from oxygen deprivation - a list of disturbing hardships which she handily condenses into the phrase: “the pain cave”.
Yet, to hear Maria speak about her experiences above 7,000m of altitude (much of which is spent deep inside “the cave”) is to encounter a charming dissonance: she often smiles as she describes them. In this interview, she shares her journey to become the expedition climber that she is today, which includes enduring the stress and competition of teenage athletics, living amongst alcohol abuse, overcoming deep depression, and being rescued from it all by the discovery of thin air and high altitude on Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro (5,892m).
Since that point her love of high and remote places has taken her back to Africa to lead climbs, on a “month-long sufferfest in Kyrgyzstan” (in which she lost 15kg but gained some of the most enduring memories of her life), to pursue qualification and to help heal others as a professional psychotherapist, and to discovery humility, “sheer presence” and the art of “blissful dissatisfaction” in all the places she’s discovered along the way.
> www.mariagranberg.se
> https://www.instagram.com/granbergadventureathlete/
Listen, enjoy, tell your friends, subscribe to the podcast if you get and chance, and thank UKHillwalking.com for their kind support of this series!
[episode recorded on 29/04/24]
00:00 - Introduction
04:50 - Welcome, moving to the mountains, outdoor life in the town of Åre (“the Swedish Tahoe”)
06:53 - Growing up a swimmer and “outdoor kid” in a 250-person mining village (“I didn’t know a single person who did mountaineering, or had even climbed a mountain”), using athletics to “grow and learn” as a teenager and young person. Getting derailed by severe depression. Moving to Tanzania and discovering climbing on Kilimanjaro
10:13 - “Something clicked, and when I came back home I got obsessed with high altitude”
11:06 - Being a sensitive child: “I have a very close relationship with my fears. I get adrenaline very, very easily”. Tackling fears through repetitive exposure: “I couldn’t accept the fact of a feeling holding me back from something that I wanted to do”
14:38 - The pressure of “striving to become the next version of yourself”, to prove yourself all the time. Growing up amongst alcohol abuse, and developing eating issues. Using sports and performance to “compensate for not having a deeper sense of self, and value of self”
19:53 - “I knew what pushing myself really hard felt like, because I had done that most of my life. But entering high altitude… reluctantly you have to shed all ego and enter a space in yourself which is more about surrendering. It was new to me, and I liked not having the control”
22:08 - “It was one of the most humbling experiences I’ve ever had, and a coming home to sheer presence”
23:03 - “It was excruciating” (with a smile)
23:55 - “My strength is my curiosity, and being pretty good at suffering. I like the suffering. I like when I g
1 hr 11 min