“If you can take a person and force them beyond their expectations of what they are capable of, the world opens up for them.”
- Stewart Brand
What Sufferfest is All About
The following articles, podcast and books are both inspirational and supportive of what Sufferfest is all about. Our group gets together to do transformatively hard adventures twice a year, and train together throughout the year.
Read and listen to the items linked below to learn more about why we do what we do.
See what we plan to do Next.
Check out the Past Events to learn more about the adventures we have gone on already.
Learn more about what to expect and how to train for Sufferfest in the Resources section of the site.
If you’re invited, you’ll gain access to the Sufferfesters section.
Interested in Joining?
If you would like more information about Sufferfest than what is found on our website, or would like to create another chapter and join us, please see the form and email link on the footer of each page of this website.
Inspiration for Sufferfest
The articles below give more reasons and data behind why we do Sufferfest.
THE BIGGEST THREAT FACING MIDDLE-AGE MEN ISN’T SMOKING OR OBESITY. IT’S LONELINESS
"The best way for men to forge and maintain friendships is through built-in regularity — something that is always on the schedule."
LIMITS OF THE KNOWN
By David Roberts
A book about adventures of all kinds and what they mean to us.
Part memoir and part history, this book tries to make sense of why so many have committed their lives to the desperate pursuit of adventure.
What specific forms of courage and commitment did it take for Fridtj of Nansen to survive an eighteen-month journey from a record "farthest north" with no supplies and a single rifle during his polar expedition of 1893–96?
What compelled Eric Shipton to return, five times, to the ridges of Mt. Everest, plotting the mountain’s most treacherous territory years before Hillary and Tenzing’s famous ascent?
What drove Bill Stone to dive 3,000 feet underground into North America’s deepest cave?
THE LONELY AMERICAN MAN
Credit to Patrick L. for finding this great podcast.
Key takeaway: Sufferfests are likely literally improving our life expectancy by improving physical and (more importantly) mental health. This is especially important for middle aged men.
“In the spirit of the podcast, smile at and say hello to a stranger today and try to strike up a brief conversation. Also in the spirit of the podcast: you guys are all very important to me.” - Rick
HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS, ACCORDING TO SCIENCE
By Ben Healy
It takes:
5 hours to go from casual acquaintance to casual friend
+40 hours to become a "real" friend
200 hours total to become a close friend
The bottom line is that it takes time to build deep relationships so you must devote the time.
Hiking Is an Ideal Structure for Friendship
By Julie Beck
From The Atlantic, this article does a good job of showing reasons our Sufferfest activities are important to us. “Without this hike … it would have been one of those college friendships where you get together and talk about the old days.”