It’s April 11, 2023 and I just arrived in Kathmandu for the second time in less than a year. I was about to do one of the scariest, most exciting todo’s on my bucket list. I was going to climb Island Peak (elevation 20,226 feet) in the Himilayas. 

Did I have experience? No. 

Was I fully prepared? No. 

Did I have any idea how hard it would be? I had a pretty good idea how hard it was going to be.

In November 2022, I came to Nepal spontaneously while I was in India for my yoga teacher training. During that time, we took a trip to a temple on top of a mountain, where we had a breathtaking view of the Himalayan range in the distance. It made me realize how close it was and I couldn’t resist the urge to see it up close before going back home. The only problem was that I was running out of money and wasn’t sure if I could afford another month of traveling while also making it back home with only $1500.

Mom Knows Best?

I was overthinking the situation, so I decided to call my mom. She simply said, “What are you talking about? You’re that close? Go to Nepal. Who cares if come back with nothing, you just find a job when you come home. Why is this even a conversation?” It was good to hear to “go for it” from someone else, especially my mom.

But, I’m not sure my mother understood how tight this would be. Here’s a little “back-of-the-napkin” math:

• Still had to get home to the US – $530
• Gear (I did not plan to hike during this trip) and flight to Kathmandu – $300
• Flight from Kathmandu to Lukla and jeep ride back – $170
• Hostels and Tea Houses for lodging – $5 to $7 per night – $150 to $210
• Leaves about $300 for food and incidentals. Yeah, that’s $10/day

$10 a day? It’s definitely doable in that region. And, in the end – No Regrets!!! I spent the next month meeting some of the coolest people and hiking through The Three Passes – one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. I was able to make side trips to all the major base camps like Ama Dablam Base Camp and Everest Base Camp. I even reached the highest point I’d ever been up until that time at Chukhung Ri, which stands at 18,196ft. (I write about that trip here.) When I landed back in Chicago, I didn’t quite have enough money left to get a coffee – Perfect.

So You Wanna Climb a Mountain?

Among all the experiences during my first time in Nepal, Ama Dablam Base Camp stood out the most. While I was there, an expedition was going through and the basecamp was full of people preparing to climb to the top. I was in awe and had a conversation with a sherpa as well as a tourist, asking them questions about the climb. They explained the following two base camps and the challenging sections of the climb. I looked up at the top of Ama Dablam and realized that I wanted to start climbing. I had no idea how to begin or any knowledge about mountaineering, but I knew I wanted to start learning.

Back Home to the USA

Fast forward 2 months and I was back home in the US. In January, my friend Old Bag texted me that she and a couple of friends from the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) were planning on going to Nepal in April. She asked if I wanted to join, and I instantly agreed. They wanted to do The Three Passes Trek, which I had no problem doing again, but I also told her I wanted to add Island Peak to the itinerary.

I remember being in Chukhung, the last town before Island Peak and also the town where you prepare to go over your first pass on The Three Passes loop. I was taking a day off and I met these people in the tea house who had just come down from their climb of Island Peak. They looked like complete shit but were all so happy (and excited to be descending in elevation). They told me this was their first climb in the Himalayas and then they explained the climb to me. I was intrigued.

When Old Bag asked me about Nepal, the first thing that came to mind was the chance to climb Island Peak. I thought it would be a great mountain to see if I really wanted to start climbing for real. It’s definitely an easier mountain in the Himalayan region, standing at 20,226 feet. Everyone on this trip said they were down for climbing Island Peak and had already been considering it themselves.

I worked A LOT over the next four months to make this trip possible, and then April 11th came around. I was landing back in Kathmandu. I spent a few days meeting new people before Old Bag from California, 7 from Germany, and Bonus and Pacemaker from Croatia joined me.

We hung out for a day getting everything situated and met with a guide company that would take us up Island Peak. It was back and forth for the group deciding it it was still a good idea and we were all pretty nervous. None of us had ever done anything like this before. Eventually, we pulled the trigger and made the decision to go for the summit of Island Peak

The cost for each of us was $1,000 American dollars, which covered 2 guides taking us from Chukhung (the last town before basecamp) to basecamp, providing us with food, necessary equipment, and baseline training for the climb. From there, it would take us 8 hours to reach the summit and another 6 hours to return back to Chukhung.

Now it was time to head to Lukla (9,468 feet) to start the adventure. We needed to take a 4-hour jeep ride to reach another airport, and then fly into Lukla, also known as – the most dangerous airport in the world. The runway at this airport is located on the side of a mountain and is only 537 meters long. To put it into perspective, a well-trained athlete could run this distance in a little over a minute. Due to its short length, the runway has a 12% uphill incline to assist planes in slowing down. Because of the airport’s dangerous reputation and the naturally poor weather in the mountains, approximately 50% of flights to and from Lukla are cancelled. Luckily, on that day, we had a good weather window and were able to fly to Lukla.

Now it was time to start heading up the mountain to acclimate for Island Peak and The Three Passes Trek. Our first stop was Phakding. Unfortunately, my stomach was feeling pretty bad and I couldn’t eat anything. I tried to have dinner, but I couldn’t keep it down. We went to bed at 8 pm, hoping that I would feel better in the morning. Exhausted from the long travel day, we all slept through the night.

The next day, we set off for Namche Bazaar, which is famous for being the biggest village in the region. This is where people from all over come to get their supplies. It’s normal to spend two nights here to acclimate to the elevation. Namche sits at 11,286 ft. On the second day, we climbed up to Everest View Hotel at 13,000 ft and then descended back to sleep at Namche’s elevation. This was our acclimation process – climbing to a new elevation every day and then sleeping at a lower elevation. The next day, we were ready to sleep at the elevation we had climbed the day before, aiming to climb only 1000 to 2000 ft a day. It was a slow process to reach the 20,226 ft for Island Peak.

After returning from Everest View Hotel, I went to a cafe and ordered a latte and margarita pizza. The pizza turned out to be bigger than I expected, but I knew I needed to eat. I hadn’t eaten much since Kathmandu, and I didn’t want to waste food again. Even though I was already full, I managed to eat the whole thing. Wow, I felt awful afterwards, so I took a nap and woke up when it was dinner time. I couldn’t even look at my food or anyone else’s. I went to the bathroom and started throwing up. It’s hard to tell if it was just some bad food or altitude sickness when you get sick at high elevation. I had the advantage of knowing my body could handle being at elevation, so that calmed my mind. I just told myself that I needed rest because there was no way I was turning around.

The next day, we headed to Tengboche for lunch. It was a challenging climb, and while the rest of the group was cruising up the climb with no problems, I felt like absolute dog shit. Each step required a lot of energy, and I had to take breaks at every switchback. Finally, when I met up with the crew, I had lunch, only to throw it all up again. I told them that I probably wouldn’t make it as far as we had planned that day and that I would catch up with them tomorrow. They reassured me that it didn’t matter if they went one more town than me because we weren’t in a huge rush.

So, we all stayed together and descended 20 minutes down the mountain to Deboche to stay in the teahouse. We got there pretty early and played probably 100 games of UNO, which had become our downtime routine. That evening I could only stomach eating rice and ended up drinking 5 liters of water.

The following day, we took the short walk to Pangboche, where we dropped our gear before heading up to Ama Dablam base camp. Although I’d been there before, this time was a completely different experience. There was no one at base camp, and we barely saw anyone during the climb up or down. We had the entire climb to ourselves, which is rare in the Khumbu region. The view was breathtaking, but we soon realized why no one else was up there – the weather started to roll in.

Once we reached base camp, snow began to fall. We took a moment to admire Ama Dablam while enjoying a Snickers bar, and then started our descent. The snow was sticking and, despite the cold, it created a stunning landscape. As we descended, the snow became heavier and started soaking our clothes. At that point, there was no point in trying to save them from getting wet, so we continued walking. When we returned to the teahouse, they lit the fire pit, allowing us to dry our clothes. For the remainder of the day, we hung out by the fire, played lots of Uno, and ate noodle soup to avoid eating anything heavy.

We left Pangboche and headed to Dingboche at 14,300 ft, following the same routine as yesterday. We hiked to the tea house, set down all our stuff, and climbed to a peak for the day to acclimatize. The snow was blinding my eyes, and I hadn’t brought sunglasses because I usually don’t wear them. Fortunately, the owner of the tea house let me borrow hers for the day – she definitely saved me.

I had packed the same things as my previous visit to get to Chukhung, which was during 13 days of perfect weather. This time, however, the weather was completely the opposite. I was unprepared and realized I should have brought more, but I didn’t want to carry extra weight in my backpack, which was stupid. I felt naive for not bringing sunglasses, a rain jacket, or micro spikes. I thought I would deal with it once I arrived, no worries. But it turned out my friends had to bail me out with their gear, which made me feel horrible.

When we were climbing Nangkartshang at 16,400 ft, the snow was slippery. Going up wasn’t too difficult, but going down, I regretted not bringing spikes. Thankfully, Old Bag gave me one of her spikes, which made it easier for me to descend. It made it harder for her, but it prevented me from falling every 50 feet. After that, I ended up buying a bright pink rain poncho and sunglasses from a small shop by the road in Dingboche.

For the rest of the day, we relaxed at a cafe. Old Bag and I shared a veg burger, and it was the first time I was able to keep food down. It gave me hope that I was getting better and that attempting Island Peak would be doable.

I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, but I couldn’t fall back asleep because I was having a hard time breathing. My nose felt clogged, so I tried breathing through my mouth, but the dry air was drying out my mouth. It was super uncomfortable, so I waited until it was an appropriate time to wake up and get out of my warm sleeping bag for breakfast. Unfortunately, no one slept well that night.

We decided to take it easy the next day and just hike up to Chukhung, the last town before Island Peak. It only took us 2 hours, and then we spent the rest of the day relaxing. It was really cold there, so we stayed in all our layers and hung out in our sleeping bags and blankets all day. A full day of eating and playing lots of Uno.

Both Seven and Pacemaker were still having trouble sleeping at night, which was concerning. Nonetheless, that next morning we all decided to do the final acclimatization climb to Chukhung Ri. The last time I was here in November, I was a bit terrified of this climb. It was my first time going up this high, and I started the climb really late, so there was no one else up there when I was. I freaked myself out and even turned around at 17,500 feet because I thought that would be enough. But, I was kicking myself and kept thinking “you’re being a little bitch” in my head. So, I took a deep breath, turned around, and finally reached the summit of Chukhung Ri at 18,200 feet at 3 in the afternoon.

This time, I felt more confident because I already knew I could handle this elevation. About 30 minutes in, Pacemaker decided to turn around because the high elevation was making him feel sick, and it was only getting worse the higher we went. The rest of us continued all the way to the top of Chukhung Ri, which took us 3 hours.

We were completely socked in, but this was the highest anyone had ever been so we were all in good spirits. Once we got back, we had lunch and met our guide for the upcoming climb of Island Peak. He provided us with all the necessary gear, including a warmer sleeping bag for the 16,600 ft altitude in tents, climbing boots, crampons, harness, and mountaineering puffy jacket, gloves, and trousers. We tried on everything to ensure a proper fit. Pacemaker decided not to continue with the climb and would instead head back down to see a doctor about his altitude sickness. At dinner, we were all excited for the next day’s ascent, as the weather had been pretty bad on Island Peak all week but was expected to be clear on our summit day, the 26th.

Some Tough Decisions

I woke up and heard Bonus, 7, and Old Bag talking outside in the hallway. 7 was saying that he couldn’t sleep again, and throughout the night, he felt like he was just trying to stay alive with his breathing. He mentioned he was planning to head down to a lower elevation. We all went down for breakfast, and for a while, there was silence as everyone seemed lost in their thoughts.

Even though Old Bag and Bonus initially felt good, they were now questioning the decision to reach the peak. Bonus’s main concern was getting sick, and he didn’t feel comfortable leaving Pacemaker behind when he wasn’t feeling well. Old Bag was also worried about getting sick herself and didn’t believe the risk of the climb was worth it. She said, “I have family and a niece and nephew, and it’s just not worth it.”

I understood where they were coming from. We had put a lot of pressure on ourselves for this climb. It seemed like they were concerned that I wouldn’t go up without them, and I could sense their anxiety about it. Old Bag asked me, “If we don’t to go up, will you still go?” I took a moment to think about it. I was nervous as fuck and feeling anxious, but I had come all this way and spent a lot of money to be here. I knew I would regret it if I didn’t at least go to basecamp. So I said, “Yes, I will still go.” I think it was a relief for them to know that not only did their decision not affect mine, but also that they would no longer have the stress of going up to Island Peak. I went back to the room to pack up and prepare for the journey to basecamp for the night. The rest of the crew decided to go back down to Dingbouche to see if they would sleep better at 14,000ft instead of 15,500ft in Chukhung.

When I went outside to say goodbye, I unexpectedly felt really sad. It was surprisingly difficult to say goodbye, even though I knew I would see them again tomorrow or the next day. They all sensed my sadness and gave me a comforting hug and words of encouragement, which was really nice to hear. After that, I felt much better.

I then met up with the guides and we began trekking to basecamp. It took us 2.5 hours to reach our destination. Once we got there, the guide showed me my tent and I put all my stuff down and headed to the food tent.

There were people who had just returned from summiting that day, and they all looked rough. I met people from all over who were descending from the climb – some had successfully reached the summit, while others had to turn around.

I then met a couple from the Netherlands who were using Island Peak as an acclimatization summit for Ama Dablam … and of course, I had questions. The woman mentioned that the last two hours of the climb were quite brutal. She admitted that she had wanted to turn around the entire time but decided to keep going, even though she went really slow. She encouraged me to take my time and assured me that “eventually you’ll be at the summit.” After they left and we said our goodbyes, I joined my two guides to practice using ropes and familiarize myself with the skills I would need for the climb tomorrow.

I went back to my tent to try to take a nap, but ended up just staring at the tent ceiling and listening to my heart beat incredibly loud. It was interesting and impressive how long it held my attention. I eventually got up to eat dinner, but I could hardly eat. They served us Dal Bhat and garlic soup, which is supposed to help with altitude. My guide also gave me an insulated bottle filled with hot water to keep me warm at night. I placed it at my feet and they stayed warm, which was a big concern for me because my feet tend to get super cold and don’t warm up easily.

They informed everyone that we would be meeting in the food tent at 12:30 am the next day. I set my alarm for 12:15 am and tried to sleep,. Although my eyes felt heavy, I was very conscious that I wasn’t asleep.

For some reason, I decided to check my phone to see the time and realized it was already 12:30 am. I panicked and quickly packed up before rushing to the food tent, only to discover that I was the first one there. I had forgotten that we were on “Nepal Time”. So, I sat and drank some tea while waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive.

We had hard-boiled eggs and porridge for breakfast, but I barely touched mine and gave it to this Swedish guy who seemed to be eating everyone’s food. It was impressive to see how much he could eat at such high altitude. Then, it was time to begin our ascent.

My head was pounding; it felt like the back of my head was being stabbed with a knife repeatedly. Whenever I took deep breaths and focused on my breathing, the pain in my head would lessen. So, I tried to keep my attention on that. I was feeling extremely nervous and overwhelmed by everything ahead of me, and the throbbing in my head was not helping. I mentioned to my sherpa that my head was bothering me, and he shrugged, removing his cigarette, and casually said, “you’re fine.” I chuckled and replied, “okay, cool.” Among my friends on the CDT (Continental Divide Trail), it was common to gaslight each other by saying “you’re fine” or “it’s fine” in situations that were actually sketchy or potential hazards. My sherpa made me laugh and said exactly what I needed to hear – money well earned.

Using Small Goals will Get You There … Eventually

Once we started climbing, the ascent was straight up the entire time. I had to take frequent breaks to catch my breath and ended up removing layers because I was sweating. In my mind, I kept making excuses to quit and turn back, telling myself that I would climb easier mountains first and then return to this one when I felt ready. However, I made a decision to at least make it to high camp (first mini-goal). It took us 2 hours to reach that point.

Once I arrived at high camp, I set a new goal for myself – I would wait for sunrise before considering turning back (second mini-goal). I thought it would be really cool to see the sunrise while climbing a mountain in the Himalayas. So I kept chugging along, struggling big time, and taking lots of breaks. Every time I fought for breath, the two sherpas accompanying me would casually smoke cigarettes and pass around jokes in Nepalese. My ego was probably better off NOT understanding those jokes.

Around 5:15 am, the sunrise emerged, and it was the most breathtaking sunrise I had ever seen. The towering mountains surrounding me became even more majestic, and I truly appreciated my surroundings for the first time, rather than just focusing on my feet through my headlamp.

The climb became significantly easier, at least mentally, for me after the sunrise. We were about to start tackling the more technical part of the climb. We geared up to cross our first ladder over a crevasse. This was another first. At this point, I decided to continue moving forward with the climb and cross the ladder – because “I’ve never done that before” (third mini-goal).

I put on my harness, helmet, and crampons, and gathered all the rope. My sherpa connected us together and we climbed up a steep wall to reach the ladder. When I saw the ladder, I realized that my only “practice” with this was seeing it in a movie. But, I was focused. They gave a little demonstration and were both there in case something went wrong. With crampons on, it was actually very easy and I crossed the ladder in no time. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to look over and see how deep the crevasse was. I said out loud, “Holy actual shit! That’s deep as fuck!”

Seeing the Summit (Half Way There)

Then we started hiking up another steep wall, and that’s when we could see the summit of Island Peak. Even though we were probably only halfway done and hadn’t even started on the hard part yet, I knew I was going to reach the summit.

We continued hiking for another hour and reached the 200-meter straight-up climb to the summit. For this part, we used a jumar ascender. I held it in my left hand and pulled the device up the rope as far as possible, then moved my body to match my hand and repeated this process until I reached the next rope clip-in point.

Each time I moved up, I took a small break to catch my breath. They smoked a lot of cigarettes in the span of 200 meters, but at this point I knew I was somewhere about 19,000 feet and I could definitely feel it. The sherpas were completely used to this environment and I was moving really, really, and I mean really slow for them. I asked how long they thought it would take to reach the top at my pace. One of them replied, “For me, 20 minutes. For you, 2 hours.” We all laughed, and I asked if smoking a cigarette would help me. He laughed and said, “That would probably take an hour off your time.” I did not smoke a cigarette because I don’t smoke and I would have probably died if I tried. I just kept on climbing – slowly but surely.

The Summit – Elevation: 20,300 feet

After what seemed like an eternity, we were on the final stretch, just 20 feet away from the summit. The summit was so tiny for the three of us. It took us 8 hours to get there, but we only spent 20 minutes on top, enjoying the views of Nuptse (25,849ft), Lhotse (27,890ft), Lhotse Middle peak (27,591ft), and Lhotse Shar (27,503ft) in a semi-circle to the north. Makula (27,805ft) was visible in the East, and Barunte and Ama Dablam in the south, creating a 360-degree panorama of some of the highest and most beautiful mountains in the world. I was truly glad to be there. Of course they celebrated by smoking 2 cigarettes on the summit, I focused on simply breathing and capturing the beauty of the mountains surrounding us in photographs.

We descended by rappelling and walking over a ladder again, encountering lots of downhill. It took us half the time to get back down, reaching basecamp in 4 hours. Once there, I had some food with the two guides and thanked them 100 x’s before beginning my journey back to Chukhung. I was exhausted, and half my gear was hanging off my pack. Literally my 10-pound boots swung and hit my shoulder with every step, but I was too tired to fix it or care. I still had 2.5 hours to go to reach Chukhung, and I was dreading it big time.

Friends Make Everything Easier

From a distance, I spotted two hikers making their way up to basecamp. As they approached, I realized it was Old Bag and Bonus. I hugged them so tight, and they told me how proud they were of me. I was just happy to be hanging out with my homies. They told me 7 was doing much better and would continue the Three Passes trek with us, but Bonus would slowly make his way down and meet back up with us in Kathmandu. We talked all the way back, indulging in a couple of Snickers bars. Bonus even carried my shoes, probably because they looked absolutely ridiculous hanging off my pack.

I remember looking back at the basecamp one last time before we headed down a hill where we would no longer see it. I couldn’t help but think, “Did that really just happen? It already feels so distant.”

Reflection …

In that moment, I realized that it was never about the actual climb. It was about the decision I made to go for it, despite feeling stressed and unsure of my capabilities. It was my first mountaineering trip with little experience, and I questioned if I could do it.

The anxiety of not knowing if I could do it was overpowering the fear of the actual climb. I simply wanted to climb the mountain to prove to myself that I was capable. For me, the satisfaction of knowing if I could do something often outweighs the actual act itself. That’s what I’m chasing when it comes to these trips.

The next mountain on my horizon is Denali, because it scares the shit out of me. This time, I promise to have at least a little more experience.