Adventures in the field — from summit pushes to base camps.
1:59 AM departure with headlamps lit. 99 switchbacks. Trail Crest. The Windows. At 9:20 AM — the summit. Only half the job is done.
Read Full Post →Eight hours of hiking through pine forests, past Lone Pine Lake, breaking above the tree line into a world of rocks, ice, and relentless wind.
Read Full Post →Bags packed the night before but somehow not feeling mentally prepared — though excited. A 3.5-hour drive into the Eastern Sierra begins the adventure.
Read Full Post →Two friends plan to climb Mt. Whitney after one receives a coveted lottery permit. Only 28,000 of 100,000 applicants get the chance each year.
Read Full Post →The Sherpa team that ran like clockwork, the Six-Seven-Eight morning routine, garlic soup over Diamox, and gear notes for the next expedition.
Read Full Post →Eight miles on foot through Kathmandu's streets and markets, a server's unexpected gift of yogurt and juice, and a flight home with a full heart.
Read Full Post →Just two hours from Everest Base Camp and a cough that won't quit. Sometimes the mountain decides for you — a helicopter out from Gorakshep at 17,000 ft.
Read Full Post →Witness to the Ganesh Jatra parade, a completion certificate from Sonam Sherpa, and a green silk scarf marking the end of a long-anticipated journey.
Read Full Post →Battling the Khumbu cough at extreme altitude. Water at $4 a liter. Arriving at Everest Base Camp triggers a response no words can fully capture.
Read Full Post →At 17,000 feet, oxygen saturation 94, heart rate 74. The deceptive mountain sun looks warm but it's cold. Kala Patthar conquered at 18,500 ft.
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