Luis Álvarez has come a long way since he was a self-described lazy couch potato and chronic smoker who weighed more than 200 pounds. At age 24 he failed a fitness test when he could not finish a 5-kilometer walk. Since that day, the 5-foot 10-inch man pared his weight to 150 pounds, finished 120 Ironman triathlons, and is just one mountain short of the legendary Seven Summits – climbing the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents.

Álvarez is the CEO of Mexico-based Grupo Aloymex, one of the largest producers of auto fuel tanks. Inspired to share his love of triathlons and particularly the Ironman, he founded the IRONMEX Triathlon Team, which has grown to over 400 members who participate in Ironman races around the world.

While his accomplishments are remarkable, Álvarez always wants to add a little extra challenge. For every one of his Seven Summits, he vowed to complete an Ironman within a week. If that isn’t enough, Álvarez decided to follow up his summiting of 20,320 foot Denali by completing the Ironman Coeur d’Alene marathon run while wearing a 50-pound mountaineering backpack.

Slowtwitch: How are you feeling after climbing Denali?

Luis Álvarez: I feel very excited after reaching my sixth of seven summits (climbing the highest mountain in each of the seven continents). Besides losing my toe nails and a big pain in all my muscles, I am pretty healthy.

ST: How far was your round trip from the start to the summit and back?

Luis: Some experienced climbers say it feels like a full marathon going up and a full marathon going down. I tried to measure it, but I lost the signal due to battery problems. It was like doing two marathons in one week. According to the Alaska Mountaineering School, the popular West Buttress Route that we took is 41 miles round trip with 13,000 feet of elevation gain.

ST: How much gear did you carry?

Luis: On Denali, you do not have sherpas or porters. In Argentina at Aconcagua (the highest mountain in South America at 22,837 feet) they do have porters. But I'm not that kind of guy. I like to do the real thing. So we carried all our packs on both mountains. You need a lot of things for safety, clothing and food. You don’t know how long you might be trapped in the mountain. So you need enough food and supplies to survive at least one week. Between the backpack and sledge we had 140 pounds weight.

ST: More than 100 persons died climbing Denali from 1903 to the present date. Seven climbers died in one incident in 1967. What do you think of the dangers of climbing this mountain?

Luis: I am a very careful and cautious person in life, particularly practicing my favorite sports, including sky diving and even mountain biking. I am one of the slowest guys going downhill. I don’t do stupid things, and I am not addicted to get into risky things where I can easily die. Most mountaineering accidents are caused by negligence. If you are not accurate and precise, you know that an accident might happen. In the book Into Thin Air which tells the story of the tragic deaths on Everest in 1996, climbers made a lot of mistakes and they missed the window for returning from the summit. Of course natural disasters can happen, such as avalanches and earthquakes, those are an act of God.

ST: What are you thinking and feeling as you experience the beauty in the mountains?

Luis: I walked between 6 and 20 hours a day. I didn’t talk to anybody, so I had several hours to myself to think. First of all I pray. Second I think about new interests. I have been doing several new things and I am creating a new speech for my motivational conferences. Of course I admire what is around me. I forget about pain and suffering. If I am thinking: “It is very tough,” then it will be too hard. All I need is to look around me and admire true beauty of nature. The sound of an avalanche is incredibly nice (when they are far away, of course). It is like music, if you like strong music you can imagine it rumbles!

ST: The mountains are so large and imposing. How does that affect you?

Luis: I have to be very conscious that I am so small in nature that I am really grateful to climb Denali. I pray to the mountain in gratitude that I could get there. And you must realize it can wipe you away in a second. It doesn’t matter how strong you are! How big you are! How speedy you are! If the mountain wants to wipe you away, it does so instantly.

ST: How long did it take?

Luis: I arrived to Anchorage, Alaska on Thursday, June 11th after 20 hours journey from my house in Mexico City to the hotel. On Friday, June 12th, my guides and I drove from Anchorage to Talkeetna, then we took an airplane to the base camp and we started climbing the same day. On Thursday, June 18th we did the summit. On Saturday, June 20th at 9:00 a.m. we were at the base camp in Talkeetna.

ST: Is that a usual time?

Luis: According to Alaska Mountaineering School the average length of an expedition is 21 days. That includes usual time lost due to bad weather. It is very unusual that someone climbs this fast on a commercial expedition. However we did it in 7 days, half the usual time even for my expert guides. In fact, only 50 percent of well-trained climbers have been successful.

ST: No margin for error on this climb. You had a short window of time.

Luis: No margin for error for anything, even weather. A week before my arrival, nobody could climb or fly to the mountain, because of storms, it was completely closed. Fortunately for me, the skies above Denali opened for me as soon as I got to Talkeetna (a village at the foot of Denali). Perfect weather during nine days at Denali was a miracle.

ST: How did you go so quickly?

Luis: I did my homework acclimatizing to altitude, climbing the highest mountains in México: Citlaltepetl (Pico de Orizaba) and Iztaccihuatl (Sleeping Woman), almost every weekend 3 months prior to climbing Denali. And during this time I slept several nights above 15,000 feet. At Denali we kept a fast pace. We went to a new camp every day – first camp, second camp, third camp, fourth camp, every day was one new camp until 15,000 feet. We were planning to do the summit on the fourth day.

ST: What about climbing Denali surprised you?

Luis: I made big research to climb this mountain and I knew it was hard. But on the mountain, I realized it was exceeding all my expectations in length, in weather, in toughness. Aconcagua [the tallest mountain in South America] for example, has a very tough part called “Canaleta” at about 7,000 meters, and 80 percent of the guys that fail to finish stop here. I found at Denali several “Canaletas.” Every single one was harder than the last one.

ST: What were some of the toughest moments on your Denali climb?

Luis: There were several. The first one was between 14,000 and 17,000 feet when I got to a point where the mountain is very steep and I was climbing along a narrow ridge where I could see both sides falling away below me.

ST: Like walking on a high wire?

Luis: Exactly, it was like climbing on a knife in the wider parts. However, in some parts I could only put one foot in front of the other - there was not space for both feet. I climbed this part with a fixed line and hooked myself with a carabiner.

ST: What was the next tough section?

Luis: The other tough part was a place called the “Autobahn.” You have to go across a 45 degrees side hill and you can slip very easy. I think the biggest risks are in that part because you can have an avalanche. You are vulnerable, so you cannot stop to drink water or pee. It is go, go, go, go. That took us about two and a half hours.

ST: What was the toughest part?

Luis: The summit. Weather forecast was favorable. From a camp at 15,000 feet we were planning to summit on the fourth day. We were so close! Nonetheless, 600 feet below the summit, the winds were over 50 miles per hour, and the thermometer showed a temperature of minus-35º Fahrenheit. For those reasons, the captain of our expedition decided to abort the mission and we returned without any objection - safety is first. I cannot deny, a large part of me wanted to continue but we returned to the camp at 15,000 feet after a day of 20 hours without success. We were completely frustrated. I thought it was our only chance to do the summit. When we started down, I had no energy. Besides that, the flavor of failure in your mouth is in your brain. I was devastated because I thought I would have to wait one year training again and find another time to do it. Plus, that last downhill was very risky and on some steps I was falling.

ST: Sounds like you made the right decision.

Luis: I agree. One thing is not to make the summit, another quite different is to do it and die. For example, when you cross the finish line at the Ironman, you can take a shower and lie down an hour later. When you get to a major summit it is not even half way, you have to go back.

ST: Is it true the majority of fatalities are on the way down?

Luis: That’s right. You used all of your adrenaline to get to the summit, then you are drained of energy, enervated and tired. And you are going down steep hills – as steep as 45 to 50 degrees. It is more difficult on your feet and muscles.

ST: How did you regroup?

Luis: At that time we were exhausted, we slept for 10 hours, and we had no food in the camp. My guides got some food and the captain said, “We have two options: to start from the 15,000 feet and go all the way - or go from 14,000 to 17,000 feet, sleep there, and then go to 20,000 feet. That was how everybody does it.” The forecast was for good weather, but the weather changes fast, and then we might have to turn back again. My guide said: “Let’s put our only bullet in the rifle.” So we decided to go in one day from 15,000 feet.

ST: How did that second attempt at the summit feel?

Luis: I once did two Ironmans in a row, but I was by far more tired and sore at Denali. On the second try, we woke up at midnight and I peed. Of course when I check my pee before the Ironman, it is clear and perfect. This time, I was depleted by lack of food and water. I urinated when I got up and it was dark yellow - as when you finish the Ironman. So I started the day feeling very bad, with a lot of pain in the nails and hamstrings and the calves. At the end of the day I was amazed, destroyed, depleted and sore - but we did it. This shows us that the human being is one of the most extraordinary creatures on Earth. We force our body to do it, and we did it. With a smile!

ST: Did you bring something to leave at the summit?

Luis: Yes. I am Catholic and I am very devoted to St. Jude, the Saint of impossible matters. If you are desperate, you go and pray to this Saint. I started my devotion to this St. Jude on my first years in a triathlon. In my early days practicing this sport, I was in surgery for chondromalacia patella and the doctors said, “You are never going to run again, forget about it.” So on the mountain I cut off my St. Jude medal, the one I have worn every day, and I tied it to the summit structure. I made a prayer to God, I pray to my father and I pray to my son.

ST: When was that operation?

Luis: In 1995, doctors cleaned it, aligned it and debrided it. Because I had this condition for so long, I had two surgeries to correct it. I couldn’t run for two years. Even without running, I did two or three Ironmans walking.

ST: What about climbing Denali surprised you?

Luis: I have had much more a sensation of cold in an Ironman than in the mountain. I did Ironman Lake Tahoe, and the temperature going out on the bike was 30 degrees Fahrenheit. On the mountain you are very well dressed for the cold but you do not expect it in an Ironman. Also, Ironman Malaysia was 120 Fahrenheit. So the Ironman weather – hot or cold - is more difficult.

ST: What did you learn on Denali?

Luis: My guides were very fast going down. I am not that fast, and they were pushing me - besides they were very rude Alaskan guys. So if I pulled the rope because I was not at their speed, they were pissed! They forced me to learn how to unlock my hips to go faster downhill. Physically I learned something I may use in the near future. I can run and walk faster, unlocking my hips.

ST: Why do many high-powered entrepreneurs become adventurers?

Luis: Many successful businessmen have this adventure type personality. You are often also doing Ironman, or climbing or something else challenging. The difference between an ordinary person and an entrepreneur is that you do not like to live in a comfort zone, so you go after something different.

ST: What explorers or climbers inspire you?

Luis: Look at pictures of my adventure heroes: Ernest Shackleton, George Mallory, Sir Edmund Hillary. The early ones were using leather boots, wool clothing, they sweated, their clothing was frozen and stuck on the skin. They had no map routes, no fixed lines, no radios to predict the weather. That was the real thing. When you see the equipment we have nowadays, it is not fair. We are copycats. You have Gore-Tex clothes, incredible high-tech boots, special titanium crampons, etc. By contrast, the real heroes are the men who made the first ascents, the pioneers. Compared to them, our way is easy.

ST: How many of the seven summits have you done?

Luis: I have made six summits, just one more - Everest! Nonetheless, I making it a little more complicated. I am doing the highest mountain of a continent and in the same week I am doing an Ironman. I did Mt. Kosciuszko with Ironman Australia. Kilimanjaro with Ironman South Africa. Mt. Elbrus with Ironman UK. Mt. Vinson with Ironman Cozumel. Mt. Blanc with Ironman Frankfurt and now Denali with Ironman Coeur d’Alene. I am always searching my limits and I haven’t found them.

THE IRONMAN CHASE

ST: What is your fastest Ironman?

Luis: I have done 10:06 twice - Austria in 2006 and Brazil in 2007.

ST: What was your slowest?

Luis: 16:51:20 at Lake Tahoe in 2013 – my 99th.

ST: Do you have any Ironman failures?

Luis: In my expeditions every success I have is because of a big failure. I learn and come back and do it better. I consider my biggest success has been Ironman Frankfurt, even though I finished 1 minute and 20 seconds over the 15 hour cutoff. I had two flats, one took me 25 minutes to repair and I spent 5 minutes helping a friend. I was still injured and I had to walk the marathon.

ST: What was that injury?

Luis: On a business trip in Germany after I finished my 92nd Ironman in Los Cabos in March of 2013, I grabbed my portfolio in the wrong way and I had a ruptured disk. At the hospital doctors told me, “You cannot go out.” But I had work to do, so I escaped and worked at the Board meeting. Then I traveled to Mexico and had surgery on May 1st. At first doctors told me, “No racing for two years.” I got a second opinion and the doctor said, “Do nothing athletic for 50 days; after that, do whatever you can.” So after the surgery I had to do eight Ironman to reach my goal of doing my 100th Ironman at the Kona 35th anniversary in October 2013. So in July I did Ironman Frankfurt (80 seconds over the 15 hours deadline). Then I did Ironman Lake Placid (15:36:36), Sweden (13:32:58), Canada (15:51:37), Japan (15:51:48) and Wisconsin (15:40:10). Then I did my 99th at Ironman Lake Tahoe (16:51:29) just before Kona.

ST: Why do you count Ironman Frankfurt?

Luis: Personally, Frankfurt is for me one of my most successful Ironmans. The standard Ironman is 17 hours. If I were over the 17 hour limit, I would think about not counting it. I have several reasons why I count it. It was a 15 hour race. I received my medal. And I had surgery 60 days before and I could not run a step there. I don’t do Ironman for the rest of the world. I do it for me. More important, it was one of the hardest Ironmans I ever did. With my injury, it was one of my best. I do not care if somebody says it is a minute late.

ST: So you did seven Ironmans between July and mid-October 2013?

Luis: Yes. In the middle of this I did four Ironmans in four weeks on three different continents.

ST: You must have very good biomechanics to keep doing so many Ironmans?

Luis: No, in fact, I am very imperfect. Let me go back to one question you asked me, “What did you learn from Denali?” Another thing I have learned is that any defect you may have on efficiency you can turn it in your favor. Let me explain: If you see me I walk and run like a duck with my toes spread outward. This makes my knees rotate and I am a terror to the people I run past in the streets - I am kicking them.

ST: So how did you turn your duck walk into an advantage?

Luis: When we were climbing this Autobahn section on Denali, which crosses a steep section which is tilted at 45 degrees. You cannot bend your ankle enough to walk a straight line. However, I have my legs twisted and I can walk toes out. So I was the fastest guy climbing that section, because I could walk sideways. In climbing it is an advantage, in running it is a disadvantage. So I do my best with what I have.

BACK TO THE BEGINNING

ST: What was tougher? Your most grueling Ironman marathon? The climb up Denali? Or the 3 mile walk at age 24 when you weighed more than 200 pounds and you were a chain smoking couch potato?

Luis: This is a tough question. I say definitely walking that 5k which was part of a fitness test. Of the 25 or 30 persons who were doing that test, I was the only one who could not finish it. I suffered very much and I finished just half. All my muscles were sore - I remember the shin splint and the iliotibial band were very painful. That was tougher than this mountain because I couldn’t finish.

ST: At that moment, before you chose to get off the couch and live a healthy life, maybe you were in more danger then than you were on Denali?

Luis: In my life I have learned not to quit. I was kicked out of my house when I was 15 years old, because my father got married and my stepmother and I did not get along. I had a fight with her, and my father said, “You are never going to put a foot in this house.” I decided to go to Monterrey, where I had never been before - no relatives, nothing at all, and start my life. I was very scared.

ST: How did you come through it?

Luis: When I find something I couldn’t do, which in that case was walk 5k, that triggered my ego. To that point I had nothing in my life I couldn’t accomplish. Never! But at that time, everything was in my comfort zone. I was smoking – I had been smoking since I was 11 - and sitting on the couch. But when people tell me I can’t do something, I take it as a challenge. I met the challenge of walking 5k, then running a 10k, then running all the 10ks I can. Then I was running marathons and, after that, triathlons and finally Ironmans. I took that failure positively. With my Type-A personality, I could have gone the right way - or drugs. If I did not choose the right way, I would be dead by now. Thanks God I choose the right way.

ST: Ironically, your two biggest friends turned out to be your failure and your ego.

Luis: LAUGHS. It doesn’t sound nice but it is true. I don’t like the egotistical way, but I don’t know how to describe it better. After the failure, you don’t like to give up. And if the ego does not fuel you to meet the challenge, you are a failure.

ST: When you combine a selfish motive with a desire to help others, that’s a potent combination.

Luis: Yes! And sometimes you have to be a little selfish because if you do not love yourself and do the right things, you will never do the right things for other people. I don’t like to be all ego or selfish. But at that time, at that moment, it saved my life.

THE QUEST FOR 100

ST: What led you to do 100 Ironmans?

Luis: Here comes my friend Dave Orlovsky, one of the original Ironman finishers. In 2008 I was drinking tequila with Dave in Mexico. After a few tequilas, he said, “How many Ironmans do you have? Let's count them.” I had every single medal in a drawer, and after a few more tequilas, I pull out all the medals and count them (I think it was 4 or 5 years before my 100th). I said him, “I want to do my 100th Ironman by the 35th anniversary in Hawaii [in 2013].” Then there was a goal. .

ST: How many Ironmans a year did you need to complete to meet your timetable?

Luis: I had done 52 Ironmans to that day. That meant I had to do 11 per year (Crazy number). Then I said, “I'm gonna do all the Ironman that exist in the world.” So I had a plan of attack. After that, I did 11, 11 and 11. Two years before the 35th anniversary, I was talking with my son, José Manuel Álvarez, in March of 2011 and I told him my goal. He said, “Father, by then I'm going to be 18 years old. Can I do it with you?” At first I laughed. I told him he had to train and stay healthy. It will be difficult, but not impossible. At that time, he wrote a letter to WTC telling them he wanted to be a part of this important and huge day for me and he would like to do his first Ironman at the age of 18 when I did my 100th.

ST: What motivated you to form the IRONMEX Triathlon Team and lead hundreds of your countrymen and women to Ironman events?

Luis: I wanted to give to other people a sport that saved my life. Triathlon also taught me how to make a business plan. What schedule? What bike? What training? What travel and accommodation?

ST: What sorts of people do you bring to Ironman races?

Luis: Since 1999 I have brought so many people. At first they think they can’t do an Ironman. But I know that people can do it without a leg, or blind, even if they had never been doing a sport before. They need something in their life. I provide an IRONMEX T-shirt, a uniform and sponsors. It was something to show you belong to a group to have fun training for an Ironman. Ninety-nine percent of my group are not competitive. They do it in 17 hours, and they are the guys that I want to help. I want to take away the words “difficult” and “impossible” from their vocabulary - to show that everything is possible with an Ironman. I push them because they think that they can’t. I find a guy who asks, “How do you start? How can I?” I say, “I bet you if you get registered in an Ironman you will finish. If you do not finish, I will pay your entry fee.” I never had to pay. They all finish!

ST: What is your most precious memory in an Ironman?

Luis: My most precious moment was to do my 100th Ironman with my son. Every time I think of it I have a tear in my eye. At a time when a boy wants to have fun and be with friends, he skipped a lot of that for hard training that is necessary to do an Ironman. I think it was very important for me and for him. It is a legacy. I got to spend time training and 15 hours and 50 minutes with my son in the race. I swam with him. I bike with him. And I rode with him through the hard moments – he had a flat tire and he was almost dead on the bike at Hawi riding into with the headwinds on the way back.

ST: Have you come to some peace in your relationship with your father?

Luis: Yes, we did the Camino de Santiago together [a spiritual pilgrimage in Spain where the faithful walk 100 kilometers with stops for prayer] When I was climbing Denali - doing the most physically extreme thing in my life - I got to the summit and I felt a strong desire to do two things: Making a prayer at the end. And the other thought was I needed to say something to my father.

ST: What did you have to tell him?

Luis: He is 84 years old now. I don’t know how much time life will give us to be together, so I have to take this moment. I was really in tears, more than I have ever been in 20 years. One of the things I must remember, he really let me go when I was young - 15 years old. We never spoke about that. However, I went with my father when he was 79 years old on this Camino de Santiago journey!

ST: How ill was he?

Luis: He is diabetic, he has a pacemaker and a defibrillator implanted. During our Camino de Santiago, we never talked about any of our problems. Along the Camino de Santiago there are stone crosses. You grab a rock, you tell your problems, your fears and your angers, and you give them to the stone and then you leave it at the crosses and you never carry it again. I left so many rocks with my father there, now we are best friends forever.

ST: What are some of the things you enjoy the most about the Ironman?

Luis: One of the nicest things I really appreciate in my life happened when I was doing Ironman Lake Placid. A little chubby girl came up to me, she hugged me and she kissed me and I was not aware who she was. She said, “Luis! I saw you in an interview, you were over 200 pounds and smoking. You said everybody can do an Ironman. Since I saw your interview, I have lost 40 pounds, and this is going to be my first Ironman.” Ahhh! Really, these things are very powerful in my life! I am not a superman. I am not strong. I have a lot of defects. And yet I can do 120 Ironman, so anybody can do it. I don't have a tattoo, but I have tattooed in my heart the following phrase: “Everything is possible.”

ST: I see you took something of your climb up Denali to your race at Ironman Coeur d’Alene a week later.

Luis: During the race, I decided to carry my mountaineering backpack, which weighs approximately 50 pounds, as a little tribute for those who died due to Nepal's earthquake and in memory of the ones killed by the avalanche on Everest.

ST: That was quite a contrast in temperatures?

Luis: That race day, was the hottest day ever registered at Coeur d'Alene. Of course I never expected 105 degrees Fahrenheit during the competition. It is usually a very cold race. Nevertheless, I feel great and stronger than ever. After coming from more than 20,000 feet above sea level, my only concern was the blisters on my feet.

All photographs courtesy of Luis Alvarez