Join us for an evening with Mark Pattison, author of the new book Finding Your Summit: How to Build Resilience and Faith to Rise Above Life’s Challenges. The book takes readers inside Mark’s journey from the NFL to the Seven Summits, revealing what extreme environments teach us about leadership, decision-making, resilience, and moving forward when life gets hard.

Through raw, unfiltered stories from Mount Everest, Denali, Aconcagua, and the challenges long before the mountains, Mark shows how clarity, discipline, and endurance are built one deliberate step at a time. The book makes one truth unmistakably clear: the most demanding climbs are often the ones happening inside us.

Finding Your Summit is more than a story about mountains. It is a guide for leaders, athletes, entrepreneurs, and anyone in transition who is ready to rise above their circumstances, rebuild with intention, and climb toward a life that demands more—and rewards the effort it takes to earn it.

Registration recommended to join us in person. To watch live online (no registration needed): https://vimeo.com/event/5839459. The recording will be available to watch later on The Community Library’s Event Archive.

Date:

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Time:

5:30pm – 6:30pm

Time Zone:

Mountain Time – US & Canada (change)

Location:

John A. and Carole O. Moran Lecture Hall

Campus:

The Community Library

Audience:

  Adults  

Categories:

  Lectures & Conversations  

Mark Pattison built his life on pushing past limits. He rose from a high school Hall of Fame athlete to the University of Washington Hall of Fame to the NFL. Years later, during a difficult chapter, he set a new mission: become the first NFL player to climb the Seven Summits.

That journey tested him with storms, snow blindness, near-zero oxygen, collapsing ladders, and the emotional weight of climbing for his daughter Emilia. It also became the foundation for his book, Finding Your Summit. At the heart of the book is Mark’s SUMMITS Model—a practical framework forged through years of adversity, high performance, and moments when quitting would have been justified. This model offers readers a repeatable way to navigate uncertainty, reset identity, and lead with purpose under pressure.

His Everest climb and personal story became the Emmy Award winning documentary Searching for the Summit.

In business, Mark spent years helping scale major digital brands at Sports Illustrated before shifting to keynote speaking and executive coaching. Through more than 275 podcast episodes and countless stages, Mark now equips people and organizations to find purpose, build resilience, and reach their highest peaks.

Original media distribution published through THE COMMUNITY LIBRARY