The Ama Dablam adventure kicked off with the trek to basecamp. Our Journey began at Kathmandu airport where we boarded a flight on a rickety old plane taking off in the direction of the infamous Lukla Airport. Flying out of the busy and colorful Kathmandu was the last time we would see city civilization for …
Climbing an 8000m peak and trekking out 80km afterward can take a toll on the body. However, despite the physical effort required on this journey, it was actually my mind that needed a rest after this journey. Throughout the trip, we dealt with some less than ideal working conditions and some leadership that was detrimental …
Two days before our summit push, we heard some interesting news from our expedition leader. We wouldn’t be taking a helicopter out from base camp as the rest of our team. Instead, we would be hiking out down to the road with a caravan of donkeys. This was news to us and not something we …
A couple of days at basecamp to sit idle served us well. Clouds, rain, and snow passed through intermittently until our summit window appeared and we were told to pack and get ready for our Manaslu summit push. Our plan was to sleep at Camp 1, Camp 3, and Camp 4 and then come all …
After our training day in the snow, we sat it out and waited at base camp for the first window to make our first rotation up to the higher camps. Despite some heavy snow forecast we packed up our gear and decided to head up to Camp 1. Sickness had struck two of our team …
After a few slow days in Samagaun, it was time to make the trek up to base camp. Located at 4,800m above sea level, Manaslu Base Camp would be our home for the next month. The porter team had already set up the extensive camp and would carry most of our duffels and gear while …
It was four long months ago in May when I trekked the Manaslu Circuit. It took us seven days to reach the Tibetan town of Samagaun as we rose up along the trail from 900m to 3500m. At that time as I trekked along the circuit, I had no idea I would be back four …
After a few months of travel since I was last trekking in the country, I returned to Nepal this week for a three-month stay. Travel in the covid-era has become fraught with potential mishaps and I find myself carrying a parcel of documents such as PCR-tests, vaccine cards, letters of invitation, visa letters, quarantine hotel …
The life I lead is usually pretty exciting. Even when there are down days, there’s usually at least one epic adventure or exciting opportunity over the period of a week. However, this week was about as bland as they come for me. After arriving back to Skardu early from our successful summit of Spantik, I …
7000m is a place I never imagined I would find myself. However, atop Spantik Peak at 7,027m is exactly where the week ended. It was an enduring battle to get there in bad snow conditions and wild weather but it was a journey I’ll never forget. I’ve documented the entire expedition in this guide: CLIMBING …
This week was spent off-grid trekking to Spantik Base Camp and getting set up for our climb. I’ve written in detail about the journey in my latest trekking guide: CLIMBING SPANTIK PEAK I’ll add the excerpts from that article to this Weekly about our journey from Skardu to Spantik Base Camp. TREKKING TO SPANTIK BASECAMP …
After so many years of adventures and trekking, it takes a little bit to get my adrenaline racing. It takes even a little bit more to generate some fear within me. Fear is healthy, it means you are pushing yourself outside of the dreaded comfort zone. Right this second, my adrenaline is on the move …