In this gripping episode of the Built By Love Podcast, Daniel Bussius sits down with Stephen Koch, the pioneering snowboard mountaineer known for being the first person in history to ride all Seven Summits and for completing bold first ascents from the Tetons to Antarctica.

Stephen takes listeners deep into the mindset required to operate in extreme environments where a single mistake can cost everything. He breaks down a harrowing moment on Mont Blanc where a hidden patch of ice forced him into an emergency self-arrest, hanging from an ice axe at a 55-degree slope while alone, securing himself with an ice screw, and transitioning from snowboard to crampons mid-descent. His experience reveals not just the physical demands of high-consequence mountaineering, but the mental resilience and discipline that kept him alive.

This episode dives into:

How fear can be transformed into clarity and peak performance

Why climbing up matters as much as the descent

The role of preparation and equipment discipline in life-or-death situations

How solo mountaineering builds radical self-reliance

What mountain decision-making teaches entrepreneurs about leadership

The practice of “starting close in” when making high-stakes choices.

Stephen’s journey provides a powerful parallel between extreme mountain leadership and the realities entrepreneurs face when navigating risk, pressure, and consequence. This conversation is a masterclass in resilience, intuition, and learning to trust yourself when everything is on the line.

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