Follow Ty’s journey to Everest at https://www.tylercandrews.com/everest

Note - The film does contain some (beeped) curse words and discusses depression and suicide.

Mr. C: So there is this clear arc as we were just discussing around failure and redemption. Did you notice this? Did you have this feeling while it was happening? Or is it one of those things you can only see in hindsight?

To give a little bit of behind the scenes, the funny thing is, it's kind of yes and kind of no. The original story was supposed to be about failing on Manaslu in the fall of 2023 and then getting surgery and coming back on Lhotse in the spring. That was the original story we pitched to Sportiva.

But obviously that got thrown out because we failed on everything we tried to do that spring. I had this conversation with Sportiva and said, "Look, we can make this movie about learning from failure and making good decisions in the mountains and end at Lhotse, but I think if you give us another six months, we might have a better ending." It actually became a much more powerful story because it included failing on Lhotse, then that huge training block over summer culminating with winning UTMB Quito, and finally returning to Manaslu.

Mr. C: This film really does get personal and there are some very difficult moments that are recorded here through the entire thing. What's it like sharing that vulnerability with a big audience?

It's not totally natural for me. Being on camera in general is not something that I'm tremendously comfortable with. The only reason it came off well is because I was able to do that with people literally in the room who I felt really comfortable with like Chris or my friend Beto who filmed us here in Quito.

I did a lot of research watching other short sports films, and the ones that spoke to me most were the ones that got personal and vulnerable, that weren't just about "hey, look at me, I'm this amazing athlete." It was the ones that showed the human side that spoke to me.

My hope is that someone will watch this movie and see that not everything went great for me, not everything was perfect, but I came out the other side. I want to be relatable, not inspiring - I want to be seen as a fellow human that also is flawed and has problems.

Mr. C: When you were making this film, you were sort of just developing your partnership with Chris Fischer. How has that relationship evolved since Manaslu?

It's funny because we actually only met a little over a year ago in Chile on the Chaski Atacama trip. And it feels like I've known the guy forever because we've been on all these intense expeditions and had these tremendously long days of suffering together, which bonds you really closely very quickly.

It's honestly hard to find people who want to do the dumb stuff that we're doing. When I find those people, I don't take it for granted. The fact that we get along really well, our paces kind of line up, our stupid senses of humor overlap, and we can sit in a tent at base camp together for a month - that is so incredibly important.

Mr. C: You mentioned being at your fittest ever after the Achilles surgery. What specifically changed about your training and how do you know that you were the fittest you ever were?

One thing I noticed when reading over my training logs, was that I constantly said "my heel felt really bad today" or "instead of doing 30 kilometers, I did five and then some biking." My training was so inconsistent and I missed so much volume and so many workouts.

It's a vicious cycle because not only does that impact your physical capability, but it really impacts your mental preparation and confidence. Now I look back at the last 12 weeks and I haven't missed a day. It's not necessarily that I was hitting specific workouts that were outlandish after surgery - it's that my training was so much more consistent. Every day I was doing something that felt good and was appropriate. I wasn't waking up every morning with constant anxiety about whether I'd make it through a workout without blowing out my Achilles.

Mr. C: There's a very powerful moment in the film where you called your mother and I from the top of Mount Manaslu. How important was having that connection in that moment?

I mean, it was one of the most important moments of my life and you guys were the ones I wanted to talk to. It had been a very tumultuous year. It was not certain this was going to work and go well and you guys had been there for me in some really tough times. We talk now and it's easy to look back at that low point knowing the story ends well, but there's a lot of outcomes where the surgery doesn't go great, and I don't know where I am celebrating on top of the mountain.

This is what family is - they're there for you no matter what, whether things are going great or things aren't going great. You guys are the ones I call in both situations. This was a day where things were going great, and I just wanted to share that moment.

And, for what it's worth, when I told Dawa to call you, I knew it would be the middle of the night for you guys, so I said, "The first thing you have to say is no one's dead. Everything is great. Don't worry. They're going to have a heart attack because it's the middle of the night."

Mr. C: In the epilogue, you go and do like a million other things after Manaslu. Was that always the plan or did you just feel like you were on a roll?

It was kind of the best case scenario. The plan was definitely to stay in Nepal. There's this interesting thing in the autumn season where it gets colder as the season goes on, which means you start with the biggest mountains - the 8000ers like Manaslu - and then as it gets colder you go to the 7000ers and 6000ers.

It works really well because you acclimatize on the really big ones, and if you time it well and manage your energy, you can go from Manaslu to mountains like Ama Dablam or Lobuche at 6000-7000 meters and feel like Superman. By the time we got to the Khumbu Valley, I was feeling okay and excited to be in a new place. Chris and I just had this fantastic season. Anything that came up, I'd say "Sure, let's try it" and things kept going well. It was more laid back and fun - I wasn't super strict with my training, just milking what I'd done in the previous six months.

Mr. C: What do you hope viewers will take away from this story as you prepare for the big run up Everest?

I hope this is seen as a continuation of that narrative arc. The fall season was great, but we still learned so much and failed on lots of things - every day we're learning up there. To me, this is a story about learning and curiosity and how you can use that to be successful and find joy.

Failure is an interesting word that comes up a lot in the film. But to me, it's really about "Can I learn from this?" - whether it's something that goes well or doesn't go well. Looking at Everest not as the end of the story or the end of the rainbow, but just another point we can learn from and build from. That's what got me into running in the first place - this idea that you can always find ways to improve. There's always more that you're capable of than you think you are.

Follow Ty’s journey to Everest at www.tylercandrews.com/Everest

And watch the full “9 Hours on Manaslu” film at www.tylercandrews.com/manaslu

Note - The film does contain some (beeped) curse words and discusses depression and suicide.