Living Magazine Winter Living Magazine 2015/2016 | Page 21
WHAT WAS THE LONGEST AND MOST CHALLENGING
EXPEDITION THAT YOU’VE EVER DONE? WHY WAS IT
SO CHALLENGING?
Its funny you ask about the longest and most challenging as
the most challenging expedition that I have most recently
been on was one of our shortest trips. This was due to the
April 25 earthquake that struck Nepal. Alpenglow Expeditions
was running an Everest Expedition on the north side of the
mountain in Tibet and we were just beginning our climb as
the earthquake happened. The earthquake and its devastation
pushed the Chinese to close Everest on the north side, which
brought our expedition to a quick close. The politics and
logistics following the closure were by far some of the toughest
challenges I have ever had on a climbing trip. We as the guides
had to constantly manage the expectations and emotions of
our guests all while working with the local liaisons that were
forcing us to leave. We were also very concerned as our
Sherpa were quite disconnected from their families and we
were trying as hard as possible to gather as much information
as we could as to the condition of their homes, villages, and
most importantly, their families. So overall, this past Everest
expedition was very challenging as we were dealing with
being told that we couldn’t climb, we couldn’t leave the
country, but yet