August

For Other Stubbornly Independent People Like Me (yeah you): The Argument for Letting at Least One Person Know When You Are Up to Something Notable or Potentially Risky

I’ve spent a good portion of my life not being required to be accountable to anyone, generally speaking. Though I have always enjoyed this type of freedom, an incident involving a mix up in my travel plans while coming to Bhutan, and no one involved knowing of my whereabouts, caused grave worry, hours of work, and a lot of morbid speculating as to what had happened to me by many people in Bhutan and the U.S., including government officials. This crazy situation has (finally) caused me to rethink my freewheeling way of being. I’m sharing how this played out because it may be useful to those of you who also revel in moving about in life unencumbered or think that […]

Category: Bhutan

August

Morning Ride up to Big Buddha

169 foot Buddha Dordenma sits above Thimphu Valley, overseeing all the happenings in the capital. It is the tallest sitting Buddha on the planet, and given that it has recently been completed, there is a 3-month puja happening right now. Three months of puja is a LOT of prayers said for all sentient beings—can you hear them?! Given the auspiciousness of the event, hundreds of people from all over have flocked there to partake. I rode up the hill this morning to check it out. One of the biggest inspirations (and perplexities) for me here in Bhutan is the devotion to Buddhism as well as Bhutanese implementing that devotion into their day to day lives. So when I witness hundreds […]

Category: Bhutan

August

Mountain Echoes

After a hike in the rain, I had the pleasure of attending a couple of sessions at Mountain Echoes, a literary conference in Thimphu, Bhutan, orchestrated by Her Majesty The Queen Mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck. The session, Woman Up, was a panel discussion with four successful, confident women who have made huge marks on many fronts: Amrita Tripathi, Barkha Dutt, Kuenga Wangmo, Padma Lakshmi. It was brought up repeatedly how younger women today have issue with the term feminism. I have run across this as well, so I was so pleased when most of them stated they were not only proud feminists but could only be in relationships with men who were as well—I was inspired—as I am in […]

Category: Bhutan

August

Highlights of my day in Thimphu

1) Checking out progress on the gorgeous home (mansion!) that my Bhutanese sister, Yangki Tshering is building. Yangki is as humble and strong a woman as I’ve ever met and I feel privileged to know her. That said I’m glad I’m not one of her home building workers, as she is putting them to task in creating a stunning place! 2) Eating lunch at my favorite local spot, momo house, and once again buying lunch for the family who had the balls to sit at the table with the lone outsider chick (yeah thats me). Downside of the day: getting clear on how embarrassed I am to be an American right now, given the world view of our abomination of […]

Category: Bhutan

August

Back in Bhutan

After dealing with a flight mix up (which involved calls to various embassies by friends in Bhutan and US to try and sort out where I was!!!) and a typhoon I have arrived in my beloved Bhutan, again. While on the drive from the airport to Thimphu I felt so much joy to be back in this beautiful, peaceful place. My heart is full. It was fitting that the first familiar face and hug was from Secretary General of Bhutan Olympic Committee! Bhutanese love to joke so I threw down my first at the airport when they did what is so common here—collect several people to do one task. “How many Bhutanese does it take to put a bike case […]

Category: Adventure

August

2-Days in Yosemite Backcountry—Pondering Perception and Freedom

One intriguing aspect of my long term relationship with the Range of Light is how it pulls at me like a magnet. Most readily when I am in balance, and sometimes when I am feeling weighted down. Experiencing the latter as of late, I took off in the middle of the night on Sunday to Tuolumne Meadows for two days of tough solo hiking in the backcountry and one night of blissful sleep under the stars. I never know what will surface from each foray into the Sierra Range except that I will have wiped the slate clean on unproductive mental grappling, and in position to create what I wish moving forward. This familiar scenario played out, yet this time […]

Category: Adventure

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About Me

endurance athlete..speaker..writer..coach..sport psychology consultant..photographer

Few athletes surpass Terri Schneider’s consistency, durability, longevity and charisma in endurance sports. As a pioneer in several sports, she has blazed a path through the endurance world that combines a zeal to experience new cultures and remote landscapes, with a hunger to push her physical and mental limits. Terri’s passion is to share these experiences with others as a motivational speaker, author, coach, consultant and photographer.

As an adventure racer, triathlete, ultrarunner and mountaineer, Terri has raced and adventured in over 70 countries. Through the hundreds of events in which she’s excelled she’s established herself as one of the most diversely experienced multi-sport endurance athletes and coaches in the world.