TIRE’d of the Stigma Expedition Day 24 – Tire Mountain Team: Karina Christiansen
Being the city slicker that I am, shifting to a timeless construct was an adjustment.
Right from the beginning I knew it was going to be an obstacle.
I‘m quite habited to capturing time and holding it for keepsake long after the moment has passed; social media has always been my favourite hub for documentation.
Undeniably so, I know I’m not the only one, and this fact always comforted me through my irrational need of my cellular device.
The moment we passed the point of reception, despite the temporary case of mild-anxiety, soon followed freedom and bliss.
Out of reception but a better connection.
The further down the beaten dirt path we wandered, the stronger the thought hit: “holy shit we’re going to flip a tire up a mountain.”
Leading up to the expedition, Tire Mountain Team started their fundraising journey with such certainty: “we will raise money… this is how… then we will flip this tire up the mountain in May.” It’s crazy how easily the rug had been ripped right from under us.
Due to Coronavirus our fundraising had been cut, training space limited, jobs on the back-burner, and uncertainty higher than ever (for everyone).
It was one hell of a patch to orient though.
As soon as the focus had shifted to the fear of the pandemic, we had limited belief that the team would even make it up the mountain to flip for PTSD.
As soon as the original date had passed we were convinced that fundraiser was down the drain.
Until later that May Terrance calls with the wild demeanour that he has and says “NOTHING WILL STOP US FROM FLIPPING THAT MOTHERFCKIN TIRE UP THAT MOTHERFCKIN MOUNTAIN!”
I always loved that doubtless attitude.
So needless to say, Graham, Oscar and I were up in the early days of June, striving for summit.
Our expedition handed us obstacle after obstacle however we never failed to enjoy ourselves.
Even after a blizzardous snowfall, we managed to share smiles that following morning.
5 days felt so much longer when you took a moment to breathe.
Looking at this journey, as I think back on the experience in its entirety, flipping tires was just the tip of the iceberg.
Don’t get me wrong, Never in my life did I think I would be flipping a tire in the snow, up a mountain, and I guarantee you there was a lot I took away from the training for it; but in the other moments of survival and unity, I had learned the most.
I learned how to camp out in the snow.
How to make an air hole in an igloo (so I wouldn’t get asphyxiated by smoke),
How NOT to use snow as a table for boiling water.
How to breathe in testing-times,
How to manage my anxiety,
How to practice gratitude, forgiveness, and the power of positive thinking.
However, most importantly, I learned that you don’t need 50 people to build a community or team.
You don’t need money or fancy things to add value to other lives;
All that you need is 5 other crazy people with the unwavering power of self-belief to build a bond, a friendship and a family.
When you have your family in the corner of your ring, achieving the unthinkable feels a lot less impossible.
Special Thank you to Surrey Firefighters Charitable Society, Surrey Honda, MEC, VSSL, Kal Tire, Escape Route, Nesters Market for supporting our journey.
Follow Karina on Instagram @lemoncrystals
—
