Standing 2,000 feet below the summit of the Eiger Mountain in Switzerland, Parker Beard had just a few hours to come back down the mountain before the last gondola left.
But for this experienced climber, the journey down the mountain didn’t just take skill, it took faith, determination and a strong mindset.
The Eiger is the “only route you can do in the winter solo,” Beard said. This climb was difficult and the slightest mistake could have been life-threatening.
It took Beard a day and a half to climb up. To get there, he had to ditch everything he had except his ice picks and two Cliff bars. He was left without a headlamp and no way up before sunset, and only two hours to get back down 6,000 feet of vertical mountain to reach the last gondola.
Luckily, Beard had a satellite phone that sent one last text while he was on the mountain.
“I’m going to make it to the gondola,” he wrote.
Beard said he recalled flying down the mountain, going backward for almost two hours until he finally reached the ground and ran to make the gondola with only 10 minutes to spare.
The senior Philosophy major said he is considering a future in coding or programming. But, his true passion lies in seeking new adventures.
Beard’s experiences with taking risks and adventuring into the unknown has shaped more than just his approach to traveling. As the president of Alpha Tau Omega, Beard said he applies the lessons he has learned to his leadership position, pushing his fraternity brothers to go above and beyond their limits, embrace challenges and take risks.
Business Professor Chris Collins, a close family friend, said he has always admired Beard’s unique ability to remain confident and calm under pressure.
“[Risk] does not give him tunnel vision,” Collins said. “He actually looks wider in the face of threat, and that’s a unique thing. I feel like his choices are just blossoming when he feels that kind of pressure.”
Beard’s love for adventure has taken him to all 50 states and most of Asia and Europe. He said his favorite places so far that he has traveled are Switzerland and Japan because the scenery is beautiful and “everything is so put together and clean there.”
Beard’s adventures are more than just sightseeing. He said they are an extension of his faith and curiosity about the world.
“That’s why I love to travel,” Beard said. “It is to see all of the things that point to God’s creation.”
Beard’s experiences in taking risks have extended far beyond mountains and travels, as he said they also influence his approach to his life and leadership.
“If the route is there, it means that somebody’s done it,” Beard said. “And if somebody else has done it, then I can too.”
This philosophy of his translates over to his role in his fraternity at Pepperdine.
As the president of ATO, Beard has become a role model to his fraternity brothers. Collins said he has several students in his classes that are affiliated with ATO.
“They all know and respect Parker as not only their president, but as someone that they look up to,” Collins said.
His leadership stands on the same adventurous spirit that pushes him up mountains.
“I always emphasize that there is nothing off limits,” Beard said. “There’s no limit on us to what we can do.”
Central to Beard’s outlook on life is his faith. Whether he is scaling mountains or leading his fraternity, he said he draws his strength from his belief in God’s plan for him.
With that, Beard said family is a big source of encouragement for him.
“A really big part of being about to do these things is I know I have my family cheering me on, even when I can’t hear them,” Beard said.
Beard’s mother, Sharon Beard, the dean of students at Pepperdine, introduced the value of creating “long-term memories” throughout their family’s lives, he said. His mother emphasized the importance of core memories that make all of the risk-taking while traveling worth it.
Beard said his adventurous spirit won’t stop at graduation. He hopes to continue exploring the world’s terrains, challenging or not. His bucket list includes climbing to the peaks of the Patagonia mountains and traversing the Sierra Nevada.
Although Beard’s future career will revolve around coding and programming, he said his adventurous side will never go away.
“If I make it a priority then I can do it forever,” Beard said.
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