Life is Delicious- Mindset Mastery, Midlife Empowerment, Joy, Purpose, Vitality, Inspiration, Women's Health

Scaling Your Inner Everest with Deanette Wells

• Marnie Martin- Midlife Mentor, Empowerment Coach, Happiness Expert, Best Selling Author

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What if midlife isn’t a crisis but a launch window? We sit down with adventure athlete and author Deanette Wells to unpack how a mother of three climbed the seven summits, raced across jungles and deserts, and turned profound loss into a compass for a life lived on purpose. Deanette’s new book, Another Step Up the Mountain, becomes our framework for building resilience: focus on the step in front of you, breathe when fear spikes, and let meaning—not perfection—set the pace.

Deanette shares how she managed a fear of heights on Everest by training her attention and trusting the rope, then maps those same tools to everyday challenges like burnout, reinvention, and getting unstuck. We trace Johnny’s remarkable path—seven summits by 17, wingsuiting, and a fierce commitment to causes like ending genocide and curing Parkinson’s—and explore grief without gloss. Her take is honest and hopeful: don’t give up on your dreams, anchor your days with small commitments, and allow joy to return in its own time.

If you’ve ever wondered how to start adventure racing, climb your first peak, or simply rebuild your energy and purpose, you’ll get concrete steps: sign up before you feel ready, learn just enough to begin, find welcoming teams (especially for women), and let community and practice do the rest. We challenge the myth of “too old” with stories of dragon boat racing at nearly 60 and a seventeenth trip up Mount Whitney, proving that someday is not a date.

Resources and links include Deanette’s book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, her socials, and two powerful documentaries about Johnny—American Daredevil on Peacock and Born to Fly on Tubi. If this conversation sparks your next step, subscribe, share with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a quick review to help more people find the show. Then tell us: what’s your Everest, and what is the very next step you’ll take today?

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SPEAKER_01:

Hey beautiful friend, it's Marnie. I'm so glad to have you back with me today. Today's guest is an elite member of the fewer than 400 individuals who have climbed each of the Earth's highest seven summits, including Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Everest, Mount Vincent in Antarctica, and Mount Elbras in Russia, to name a few. She has participated in four eco-challenges, a race 150 plus miles across various deserts, has biked across America, and adventure raced around the globe. Her name is Deanette Wells, and she has just written a beautiful book called Another Step Up the Mountain, depicting her journey through loss and grief. And she's here today to show us how we can all find our own way to tackle and climb our own Everest, whatever that is for you. Stick around because you're not going to want to miss this. Welcome to this episode of Life is Delicious. I'm Marnie Martin, and I'm so glad you're here. And if this is your first time here, welcome to the Life is Delicious family. This podcast isn't about surviving midlife. It's about crafting your next afterlife, overflowing with purpose, joy, and delicious possibilities. Listen, midlife doesn't have to be a crisis. It can be a beautiful invitation to remember who we are, to rediscover a new version of ourselves, or to completely reinvent our life to reflect who we are becoming now. So if you're tired of being exhausted, living life on autopilot and putting everyone else first, then you are in the right place. Each week we'll bring you thought-provoking ideas and practical strategies as well as inspiration to help you prioritize yourself again. It's time to take back your joie de vie. So grab a notebook and pen and pop in those earbuds and let's go get it. Let's face it, you need energy to hit the gym, grind out a long workday, get through those midterm exams, or chase your grandkids around the yard. What you don't need is caffeine, sugar, artificial flavors and colors, or other chemicals from energy drinks that leave you with the dreaded afternoon slump or a downright crash in energy. The Boost Superpatch is designed to offer a clean energy alternative for athletes, students, executives, and busy moms and dads who need an all-day energy lift. It's safe, all-natural, non-invasive, zero calories, and 100% drug-free. Superpatch uses vibro tactile technology to stimulate the skin's neural response through a unique pattern similar to a QR code that sends signals to the brain and your nervous system to stimulate and elevate your energy levels. You can get 25% off your first order at lifeisdelicious.superpatch.com. Naturally power up your day with the Boost Superpatch and enjoy peak performance and clean energy that lasts. That's lifeisdelicious.superpatch.com for a 25% discount. Welcome, Dianette, to the show. I'm so grateful to have you here. You have such an amazing story, and I think we can really learn a lot from what you have put into your new book, Another Step Up the Mountain. Tell us a little bit about where your love of adventure came from.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I'm I'm not really sure. I I know that we went camping as kids, but we weren't allowed to be intense or get dirty or get wet. It was a very weird camping thing. But yeah, I don't know. I just as a kid I always wanted to play outside and ride my bike and get lost. And when I became an an adult and could really do it, that's kind of where my life headed.

SPEAKER_01:

And so I know you had three children. So did you start doing the seven summits while you had your kids, or was it before?

SPEAKER_00:

No, um, I didn't do any of these things before I had kids. My very first mountain that I climbed was in '98, and I had three kids at that point. And so everything I've done has been while I've been a mom.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow, and that's made a massive impact, obviously, on at least one of your children. But did all of your kids have that same sense of adventure or just your son Johnny?

SPEAKER_00:

They did. Both of my daughters have climbed um Kilimanjaro. Um, they're very adventurous in you know their travels and how they live their lives. And yeah, no, it just kind of it just kind of trickled down to all of my kids.

SPEAKER_01:

And so I know there's only something like less than 400 people who've actually climbed all seven summits. So that's a pretty amazing accomplishment. Um is that something you set out to do, or was it just you did one and then it was like, well, let's do another?

SPEAKER_00:

In the back of my head, I I had a horrible fear of heights, and I never thought I could climb Everest. It just wasn't on my radar until I read a book and someone described the Lotsey face very clearly. And I thought, oh, if if that's what it's like, I could do that. And so, you know, over, I don't know, an eight or eleven year time span, I can't remember, I just started knocking them off one by one. And then of course at some point you're on that path towards climbing the seven summits, and you know, it at some point you know, okay, that's the goal, and then you try to do them in a in a good order. And yeah, before you know it, you've done all seven of them.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow, that's impressive. And a lot of obviously having to overcome your fear in the process. How did you do that when you had such a debilitating fear of heights?

SPEAKER_00:

So I try not to look down unless I'm super secure on a rope. I just really I don't look down. I look up, I'll look to the side, but I don't turn around and look down.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, interesting. That's amazing that you can make that work. Wow. So tell us, I know you have a very interesting story, and of course that's the inspiration for a part of your book anyway, Another Step Up the Mountain. Um, tell us about the journey with your son and how he also came in the process of having that incredible sense of adventure and from a very young age.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, he had it before I think any of us had it. He was just, you know, this wild little kid who was always climbing, always jumping, always in search of the new fun thing. And um Yeah, as soon as he was old enough to speak, he just was all in on whatever adventure was going on, and if there wasn't one going on, he would make one happen. It just amazing that way. And the older he got, and he was very strong, he would train, he started paragliding, and then he had a crash, and so he put put a stop to that for a little while, and that's when he really started climbing mountains with his father and I. You know, by the time he was 17, he had climbed the seven summits. And of course, by then, um, shortly thereafter, he turned 18 and then could start other sports that you know we wouldn't let him do when he was younger, but as an adult, an a legal adult, he could do whatever he wanted.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, and of course, after getting through all seven summits at such a young age, he obviously had some, you know, drive, instinctuiveness, and strength, and you know, all of those things. So that's that's a pretty good start for your next chapter.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, he was really physically strong and you know, well trained. So yeah, when he wanted to do something, he trained for it, he worked hard, and he made it happen.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I think he probably had some good examples at home. A couple. Um, so tell us his story and how it impacted the way you moved forward with the rest of your life, if you don't mind.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, he passed away wing suiting, if that's what you're asking about. And yeah, how it impacted my life was, you know, losing a child is there is nothing worse. And I was scheduled to go to Everest in the spring of 2016 to climb Everest, Lotsey, and Nupsey. Big deposit paid. Um, I had moved to Park City to train. And then, you know, when the accident happened, that fell by the wayside. I wasn't going to climb, you know, Everest at that point. I am trying to get back there now. I think it'd be a great place to celebrate my 60th birthday next spring. So yeah, so you know, it just takes time to learn to live a different way and and you know, learn to live with this thing that's happened.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So what do you think was the main thing that helped you navigate those next steps? Because I know that's obviously something you it took a a long time to be able to um articulate in the book, but it's uh changed your life and obviously you feel like it could change other people's lives as well.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, just you know, don't give up. You lose a child or you even have a child, and you know, don't give up or look past those dreams that you had because you know, they're still valid. You're here on this planet. You know, those who are still here, you know, we're we're meant to live and live a good life, and you can't just call it quits and say, I I'm not gonna do anything anymore. I don't think that's what we're meant to do here on this planet. I think we're meant to live really good, joyful, happy lives. And, you know, it takes a while to get back to that point, but you can and you know, you will. You just have to fight through it and, you know, don't give in to the to the grief.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's a big part of it, but it's a process of going through all of those different things, but still being able to remember who you are in the process.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it kinda you know, if you allow it to, it will come back around.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And I know there's um a documentary on him called American Daredevil, and that is where can we find that?

SPEAKER_00:

So that's on Peacock, and then some friends of mine said that they also found his documentary by another title, um, it's called Born to Fly, and that's on is it Tubi or Ubi? I think it's Tubi. Don't you ever remember? Yeah, so Tubi also has it, but it's under the name of um Born to Fly.

SPEAKER_01:

Awesome. And I know Johnny had an amazing humanitarian approach to the way he did things as well. Tell us a bit about that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, very into philanthropy. Um, genocide and um curing Parkinson's. His best friend's dad has Parkinson's, and that was really important to Johnny to, you know, get the word out about it. And if there was any way to raise money for it, um, Johnny was all in. So he geared his climbs and his adventures. Every summit he would hold up a sign that said, you know, stop genocide, cure Parkinson's. And it wasn't just like he was out there just to have fun. It was it was always with a purpose. You know, that made me very proud as a mom.

SPEAKER_01:

Of course, of course. That's amazing. So tell me maybe what was your most fun race? Because I know you've done a whole bunch of different races, and um that became something that has kind of defined your life. So what was the one that was the most fun for you?

SPEAKER_00:

It's funny because most fun was also the most difficult, and that was Eco Challenge Fiji in 2002. Um, the one in 2019, uh, my team we pulled out maybe 24 hours from the finish line. One of our guys had gone septic, but in 2002, with Charlie Ingall and Marshall Ulrich and Mark Macy, we crossed the finish line and that race was just insane. How people didn't die during that race, I'll never know. But that race was incredibly fun and deeply, deeply difficult.

SPEAKER_01:

So, what advice would you have for someone who wants to maybe start getting into doing some of this adventure racing or or possibly even climbing some of these summits? So there's obviously some m mental mindset that you have to have um aside from the physical component. What kind of advice could you give to people wanting to maybe take that on?

SPEAKER_00:

You know what? Sign up. Just sign up for something. Um it could be a 5k. If you, you know, just start Googling, there's a whole bunch of adventure races out there, and teams are looking for people, especially women. And it's just putting yourself out there and signing up. You know, learn to kayak. You don't have to be an expert mountain biker or an expert kayaker or any of those things. You just have to be proficient, and then you know, the more you do each thing, the better you'll get at it. And you know, it comes with time, but it's so worth it because you meet the most incredible people. You have these insane experiences. I mean, from being lost in the jungles of Panama and having the military out looking for you to, you know, almost drowning in a river in Borneo. I mean, just I there aren't enough pages in a book for the amounts of adventures and crazy stories. It's getting yourself out there.

SPEAKER_01:

So your book, Another Step Up the Mountain, is um obviously talking about your adventures, but I know you kind of refer to each person has their own personal Everest and it might be something very simple. So tell us a little bit about that philosophy about how we can tap into our own inner strength when things are hard.

SPEAKER_00:

So that inner Everest thing, I mean, uh some days like what seems like to be this huge mountain, on another day it might just be a molehill to us. But you know, like sometimes getting out of bed in the morning might be your Everest of the day, or you know, a pipe burst. There's you know, there's always something in our day-to-day lives. And it's just, you know, sometimes it's just baby steps, little steps at a time, and a lot of deep breathing and just slowing things down a little bit until you can get the right footing and not just sitting on the couch and giving up and ignoring it, but little baby steps until you accomplish whatever it is you need to accomplish in that day.

SPEAKER_01:

Amazing. I love that. It's really inspirational to hear um your story, and uh I can't imagine doing what you've done. And I think Mount Whitney was one of the first ones you climbed with your girlfriends.

SPEAKER_00:

It is. I'm actually going back there next week to do climb number 17 of it. I mean, we were a bunch of Malibu housewives. We had no idea what we were doing, but no matter what, we were gonna have a good time, and we did. We also got a summit out of it. So none of us had any expectations of we're gonna summit or who knew what we were gonna do or what was gonna happen, but it ended up being one of those pivotal moments in life of, oh hey, look what this is gonna lead to. And you know, that one climb kind of changed everything.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, we talk a lot about uh on the podcast about how midlife sometimes can feel like, oh, I'm too old to try something new, or I'm, you know, it's my body's not up to that. But I think there's so much evidence to the contrary that now is the time when we can open ourselves up to new experiences and it just creates a whole new world.

SPEAKER_00:

It really does, and that age thing, oh, I hear it all the time, or you know, I want to do this, but later or someday, and that is not a real time frame. Someday never happens, and later never happens. I mean, later happens, but then you haven't accomplished anything. So put age out of your mind. I'm about to well, I'll turn 60 next spring, and I just took up dragon boat racing, and I'm having the time of my life doing that. Instead of saying, Oh, I'm too old to try something new, why not? You have nothing to lose. We have nothing to lose at this stage in our lives. Like now's the time, while we still can just to go for it. We might not like it, but okay, so don't do it again, or maybe we're not, you know, physically there, but you will get there if it's something you really like. I think the best thing is just to say yes to everything and see what you like. You never know.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, because there's so this is the time when we kind of have that extra little bit of time that we can put the energy into ourselves after we've raised our kids, and you know, that's a perfect time to be able to dedicate something and take something up for yourself that maybe you'd never thought you could do before.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. Because you know, the kids and then grandkids, you there's there's that little window that your kids are gone, you're an empty nester, and before you have grandkids that you know, that's the time to take advantage of it. But but even when you do have grandkids, I now have a granddaughter and and I'm thinking, hmm, you know, where's my time spent? But I still can't give up what I'm super passionate about. And um, I think it'll be a good example to my granddaughter someday when when she hears the stories of, you know, grandma did what? You know, because people think grandmas are old and no, just wait. I can't wait to tell her stories.

SPEAKER_01:

I know, and I'm in that same space too, because I uh my kids are not married or don't have kids yet, so I'm kind of in that little window, and uh yeah, so that's why we talk about this a lot because it's it's really important to be able to do that. And you set an example, just like you said, for your kids and for your grandkids to say, you know, it's do something new. You are capable and you're able if you have the willingness.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and why not? I mean, life is short. We have to make the most out of it and we have to have fun.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely, I agree. So tell us a little bit more about your book and where we can find it, and maybe where else we can find you on social media as well if somebody wants to read your story.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I'm on uh Facebook, Deanette Wells Adventure Athlete, I think it is, and Instagram, just Deanette Wells. And then my book, Another Step Up the Mountain, can be bought on Amazon, Barnes and Noble. Wherever you order your books or your audiobooks, it should be there. And yeah, I'd be thrilled if people bought it and read it, and hopefully it will inspire them to, you know, get out the door and do something fun for themselves.

SPEAKER_01:

I love that. Well, thank you so much for being here with us today. I will definitely put all the links to those in the show notes, and um, hopefully we can connect again soon.

SPEAKER_00:

I would love that, and um, yeah, let me know if you go on any fun adventures.

SPEAKER_01:

I hope you loved today's episode. I hope it inspired you or motivated you in some way to keep going and create your very best life. If you did, would you stop and take five minutes to leave me a review on Apple Podcasts? It's the best way for me to know that you're enjoying the show, and it helps other listeners find us as well. And while you're at it, head over to lifeistelists.ca and sign up for email updates so you'll get notified every time a new episode drops. And I'll send you a free copy of my ebook, The Midlife Manifesto, inspiring strategies for mastering the eight most important areas of your life. Sign up today at lifeisdelicious.ca. And if no one has told you today, there's not one person on this planet that is exactly like you. And the world is a better place because you're here. So thank you for being here. I'll be back next week, and I hope you'll join me right here on Life is Delicious.