DATE: November 2022
“The same boiling water that softens the potato, hardens the egg. It's what you're made of. Not the circumstances.” - Mel Robbins
Obstacles will inevitably appear before us and the real test is how we deal with these situations. Will you allow it to break you, or will you use it as inertia to propel you further towards your goal?
On the training climb on Himlung we were faced with several challenging circumstances that required strength and determination to see our way through.
My climbing leader and I caught dengue fever at the very start of our climb, which weakened us both and slowed down our progress, but ultimately didn’t stop us from continuing on our mission.
Then there was the unpredictable weather that Himlung is known for. No sooner were we making progress after gaining back our physical strength when we were assaulted by adverse weather conditions that emerged a lot earlier than expected. Climbing a mountain of this magnitude in normal conditions is hard enough, especially with no legs – crossing huge glaciers, 20m vertical climbs with snow and loose rocks – but add in gusting winds and snow blizzards and it is a different ball game altogether.
The team and I faced several difficult situations caused by the weather, but we never gave up. We worked together tirelessly and kept focussed on our goal to return to Kathmandu safely and all together.