#22 | Sunny Stroeer | Speed Records and Van Life

Adventurer Sunny Stroeer on leaving a Harvard MBA and consulting career to live in a van, and setting speed records on Aconcagua and the Annapurna Circuit. Suzanne "Sunny" Stroeer is an absolute free spirit and adventurer. After a Harvard MBA and hard-charging strategy consultant in her twenties, she turned her back on material possessions and her career at age 30 in order to live in an Astro Van so she could run and climb full-time. Her specialty is the high altitude endurance realm; she holds speed records on Aconcagua and on the Annapurna Circuit and has excelled on high trails in the Colorado Rockies. Join us for this conversation on speed records, management consulting, empowering women and the magic of Utah. To learn more about Sunny: https://www.sunnystroeer.com Chapters 0:00 Welcome back Sunny Stroeer 2:32 The long night before the summit 5:06 Where Sunny is from 7:40 Her mother's marathon 10:10 A bookish upbringing 12:44 Arriving at Harvard 15:14 The course that changed everything 17:45 Running to get fit 20:18 Finding the right company 22:50 Twelve interviews 25:26 Starting work in 2007 27:59 Pressure in her first job 30:33 Back to Boston for business school 33:10 Is business school for her? 35:41 Her first motorcycle 38:16 Leaving her first company 40:53 Choosing Bain 43:28 A $400 million fund out of college 46:03 Nepal, Madagascar and a first ultra 48:33 Staring out over Houston 51:03 Ryan's path from basketball to China 53:36 Micro adventures from Houston 56:06 The grind 58:43 Straight from Aconcagua onto a case 1:01:20 Presenting to the CEO without sleep 1:03:54 How do you resign? 1:06:26 Sending the resignation email 1:08:56 Student loans and a visa 1:11:26 An ultra runner at Dell 1:14:03 A $2,800 van from Craigslist 1:16:35 Three and a half years of van life 1:19:09 Meeting her husband in the Flatirons 1:21:43 Being deliberate about adventure 1:24:13 A solo big wall and a women's team 1:26:48 Avoiding objective hazard 1:29:24 Deaths on the mountain 1:31:59 Planning the Aconcagua speed record 1:34:29 Climbing alone after all 1:37:03 Permits and getting married 1:39:42 The Annapurna Circuit and other records 1:42:13 Memories of Aconcagua together 1:44:44 Buying a guiding company before Covid 1:47:17 Thirty days to bankruptcy 1:49:52 Ryan trekking in Myanmar 1:52:26 The outdoor boom 1:55:00 Revenge travel 1:57:30 An epic descent from Aconcagua 2:00:03 Winter ultras on a fat bike 2:02:35 A thousand miles in thirty days 2:05:08 Guiding with Dreamland Safari Tours 2:07:39 Paying for adventures 2:10:12 Speed record attempt on the Arizona Trail 2:12:46 Denali in 2024 2:15:19 Local support on Kilimanjaro 2:17:49 Greenland and the South Pole The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world. Follow the Podcast X: https://x.com/RyanPylePodcast Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpylepodcast Follow Ryan Pyle YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ryanjpyle Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanpyle X: https://x.com/RyanPyle Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpyle https://www.ryanpyle.com