EVEREST & LHOTSE

CLIMB OVERVIEW

During the months of April and May 2017, my team and I battled day after day to climb Mount Everest and Lhotse, the tallest and 4th tallest peaks in the world. The events that occurred over the course of these two months have changed my life forever.

A few facts and thoughts on my Himalayan Expedition of 2017…

EVEREST: AKA “Big E” as climbers call it or its original name, Sagarmartha, is the tallest mountain in the world. It was first summited in 1953. Since then, approximately 4,500 people have summited Everest, almost half of which are Nepali Sherpas.

For me, Everest will always be a bittersweet memory and one of my greatest accomplishments. It was a beautiful mountain that presented a great physical challenge but so much of that was diluted by the egos that caused others to neglect helping those in need.

LHOTSE: The 4th tallest mountain in the world and the sister peak to Mount Everest. Since the first summit in 1955, less than 700 people have reached the summit.

A couple days after returning from basecamp, during a team dinner in Kathmandu, someone asked “What was your favorite moment of the expedition?” It was an easy question to answer, it was that moment on Lhotse. Whether it was fate or coincidence, Lhotse was a reminder of why I love to climb.

Lastly, the events that transpired during our time on the mountain have helped me to be better understand this famous climbing quote from Rene Daumal…
“There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.”