Today begins a journey towards the world’s greatest peaks.

September 9th, 2014.

I found myself deep in the Tibetan highlands. We had spent the past few days on a minivan, driving over bumpy (and questionable) roads, making our way towards the Himalayan range.

I had spent hours on the bus gawking at the scenery, hardly even noticing as those hours passed me by. I found myself in an adventure novel, one that slowly morphed from moonscape terrain to crystal-blue lakes, slowly bringing us up to an altitude of 5,000 meters.

Upon our late afternoon arrival at the Tibetan Everest Base Camp, I stared into the shroud of clouds surrounding Mt. Everest. I despised them for hiding the world’s greatest mountain from me. I built a small rock pile as a gift for the mountain gods. I danced by a river. I did everything I could to make those clouds disappear.

We woke up the next morning and looked upon those same clouds. But before leaving base camp, we decided to wait an extra hour to test our luck. Then, suddenly, something magical started to happen.

It was an incredible sight, an incredible moment, and one of my most incredible life experiences to date. But as great as that day was, there was something about it that left me hungry. I found in myself an innate desire to walk towards those mountains, to walk around them, to stare at them for more than just a couple of hours. It was a hunger that I never knew I had, but one that I knew could not be left unsatisfied.

September, 2015.

Nepal is still struggling to recover and rebuild. Two major catastrophic earthquakes struck in late spring of 2015, causing over 9,000 deaths and massive destruction throughout Kathmandu and the Langtang valley region. Even though Western media had long forgotten about this natural disaster, the people of Nepal hadn’t. While rebuilding, Nepal simultaneously tries to bring in tourists. Tourism represents approximately 4% of Nepal’s GDP, and because of the earthquakes, many tourists are staying away from Nepal. This can put Nepalese people out of jobs, shut down businesses, and make Nepal’s economy stagnant.

December 26th, 2015.

I am leaving for three weeks in Nepal. What Nepal needs right now is skilled volunteers and a revitalization of its tourism industry. Although volunteering would be incredible, most volunteers needed must have extensive medical or engineering backgrounds, both of which I extensively lack.

Will one person visiting Nepal fix all of its problems? Absolutely not. Will it fix any of its problems? Also maybe not. But if tourism can help this country, then let this trip to Nepal be a way to spend a winter break, and also a way to help Nepal continue to recover.

My high school friend and I will be embarking on a 13-day trek from Lukla, in the Khumbu region of northeast Nepal, to Gokyo Ri (Gokyo Peak), a mountain overlooking Everest, Lhotse, and the highest string of lakes in the world. Our trek will begin on the Everest Base Camp route until we reach Namche Bazar, where we’ll break off and continue north and away from the Everest crowds.

We will cover a total of 57 miles, reaching a maximum altitude of 5,350 meters (17,550 feet). The altitude of Chicago is approximately 579 feet above sea level. This is gonna be fun. And by fun I mean challenging, mentally and physically-demanding, exhilarating, exhausting, and every bit the opposite of relaxing. Many friends and family raised their eyes higher than usual when hearing about this trip, simply because it will not be comfortable and is not how a normal 21-year-old should be spending her last college winter break. But hell, it will be so incredibly rewarding, rejuvenating, and everything I want in a trip. We seek mountains, and mountains is exactly what we will get.

Stay tuned for (likely sparse) updates about our trip, our trek, and this fascinating country.

And Happy (almost) 2016–may it be as adventurous as you’ve always dreamed of!