That was the toughest mental and physical challenge of my life. I made it to the summit of Makalu (8,463m), the fifth highest mountain in the entire world. After twelve days off the mountain after a heli-evacuation, I went straight back into a summit push. There were so many doubts and so many fears but …
This has been a tough week. It felt like the old days of solo travel but not fun or adventurous. Often when traveling solo you don’t necessarily feel alone but this week I’ve felt very isolated. After three days of being scanned, tested, and operated on in Kathmandu, I headed on a short flight to …
At six in the morning, I scrambled a few of my belongings together and was whisked away into a helicopter. It was a whirlwind moment with hardly enough time to say goodbye. Most of the members at camp didn’t even know I had left. Within minutes, I was at eye level with the summit of …
I wouldn’t know it at the time, but I set off up to camp two with sinusitis and an infection in my gum. I made it but it wasn’t pretty. From the minute we set off from the base camp, I was feeling tired. By the time we reached Camp 1, I was extremely fatigued …
After ten long days, we arrived at Makalu Advanced Base Camp (5,800m). This would be our new home for the next month as we did our acclimatization rotations up to the higher camps throughout our quest to summit Makalu Mountain (8,463m). Base camp is quite an extensive setup. We have 7ft tall tents to sleep …
The 50-day Makalu expedition begins with a 10-day journey to an advanced base camp at 5,800m of elevation. It’s one of the highest base camps in the world and the trek is quite rugged compared to other popular routes in Nepal. I wrote an extensive guide to the Makalu Base Camp Trek, which you can …
This week was time to put the final touches on preparation for our 50-day Makalu expedition. There is always something that will be forgotten and packing for an expedition like this requires attention to detail. This huge packing list only adds to the nervousness of an expedition. However, after venturing into the death zone last …
Six years ago I hit publish on the Journey Era blog. Little did I know, the moment my finger clicked that button my life would change forever. I was living on Oahu at the time, which is a tropical island in Hawaii. I was in the last semester of my journalism degree. Sitting in the …
Almost one week passed already since we entered the Langtang region, which had experienced quite a lot. The adventures began with the trek into Kyanjin Gompa, before we made it up to Kyanjin Ri and then Tserko Ri. However, our main objective still loomed. The Yala Peak climb was an interesting mission. No one had …
After a few tricky hikes in Hawaii it was time to put my ankle to the test with a multi-day trek and climb in Nepal. We set off on the Langtang Valley Trek, which is usually a 7-day roundtrip journey. However, we added a Yala Peak climb to the middle section of the trip extending …
Having endless options often means endless decisions. With no large expedition confirmed for the Spring season in the Himalayas, we had to make a call on where to travel after Hawaii. Due to a few factors, we decided to head back to Nepal. We would make it in time for Losar, which is the Tibetan …
Hawaii can be many things to many different people. In this period, it was my recovery center. I ended up staying for almost two months on Oahu and went from barely being able to walk when I arrived compared to hiking a vertical kilometer through tough terrain the day before I left. It wasn’t a …