Most people will never even think about climbing Mount Everest. Dr. Jon Kedrowski has been on seven Everest expeditions and reached the summit four times. Along the way he survived the 2015 earthquake that killed 20 people in front of him at base camp, a storm that killed seven climbers on the night of his first summit push, and a lightning strike that destroyed his tent on a Colorado peak while he slept on the summit.

Jon sat down with Michael to explain his Everest Ready philosophy: build a body and a mindset that could take on the hardest thing imaginable at any moment. 

They get into how he decides when to walk away from a mountain (including a deadly K2 winter expedition), why traffic jams have become Everest's real danger, and why a first ascent of an untouched peak felt better than reaching the top of the world.

Two Percent is hosted by Michael Easter. Today’s episode was produced by Joey Fischground, Robbie Hiser, Dana Brawer and Julia Nutter. From Kaleidoscope, our executive producers are Mangesh Hattikudur and Kate Osborn and Julia Nutter. From iHeart, our executive producers are Katrina Norvell and Nikki Ettore. Our Head of Video is Maria Paz Mendez Hodes. This episode was edited by Ryan Mulhern. Our theme music is by the Heater Manager.