Harlan, thanks for keeping your eyes on me and helping me to navigate through the storm. You opened your heart, home, and family to us and brought such depth and passion to the project—it’s been inspiring to get to know you.

Many thanks to my entire No Barriers Grand Canyon team for helping me to prepare and build the confidence to take on the challenge.

Skyler and my Touch the Top team, you make things happen behind the scenes and never get enough credit. I want you to know you rock.

To Dave and the staff at No Barriers, you bring our movement to life and are the alchemy behind the mission.

Thanks to Gail for championing this project, and to Laurie for believing in me twice now.

Love and appreciation to my dad, Ed, for recounting some wonderful family stories. I can still remember the roar of your A-4 Skyhawk swooping over our house in Hightstown and rattling the windows. Semper Fi.

A big bear hug to my bro, Eddi, for reminding us about his insane four-wheeling adventures with our brother Mark, the hot peppers, and “Down in Orlando…!” We love you, Mark.

My deepest gratitude goes to my wife, Ellie, who read every page of the manuscript with care, diligence, and love. You sat awake many nights giving critical feedback that guided the book and its themes. You’re the real writer of the family, and I couldn’t have done this without you.

Thank you to Buddy Levy, my coauthor. We met in 2003 at an adventure race in Greenland when he was covering the event as a journalist. For several days, Buddy was embedded with my team, and he made the grueling miles go a little faster with his thought-provoking questions and sense of humor that lifted our exhaustion and made us belly-laugh along the trail.

Buddy: I watched in amazement as Erik paddled through iceberg-filled fjords, bushwhacked over boulder-strewn terrain, rode a tandem mountain bike at frightening speeds, and summited numerous peaks. I already knew that he’d summited Mount Everest and was impressed by his mountaineering résumé, but tromping through Greenland with him, I came to know his humor, his determination, and his vision for obliterating barriers. I stayed in contact with Erik over the next decade, writing a number of magazine articles about him, going skiing with him, and getting to know his family. In 2013, I went to my first No Barriers Summit, and there experienced firsthand the unique assemblage of people connected by a shared philosophy, which is the No Barrier’s motto: “What’s Within You Is Stronger Than What’s in Your Way.”