Wendy Goes to Everest

Toby spent the better part of the year following her return from Nepal finding videos of people hiking up mountains... the better to lure me out.  In 2013 when she and Meg went to Nepal, I was impressed, inspired, and quite sure I did not want to go to that much work.

Then we watched this documentary about a group of regular people climbing to the top of  Mount Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. I was enthralled. Suddenly I wanted to climb to the top of Kilimanjaro. So I said to Toby and Meg, would you do this with me, if I could get in shape? Maybe next year?  They jumped at the chance to have me get fit enough to go on adventures with them. They said YES.

As the weeks stretched into months and I started losing weight and gaining stamina, Toby and Meg went from being hopeful that maybe I could get in shape to believing that I would do it. So before plane tickets were bought and the reality of a trip took shape, they started talking about going back to Nepal, instead of Kilimanjaro.  It took some time, but they convinced me.

Getting in shape to trek to Everest Base Camp was a long haul, both satisfying and difficult.  But I have lost over 100 lbs, through dieting and exercise. Our son Adam decided he would come with us too, which is great. When we went to NYC in the fall we hiked all around Central Park (though he did stop to read a lot).

Now I am enjoying all the exercising pleasures I used to enjoy as a young woman; biking, dancing, swimming, hiking. I've even taken up jogging, joined a boot camp class, and I did a triathlon.

So now, over 400 days later, we are set to fly to Kathmandu in less than 2 weeks. A return trip for Toby and Meg and a brand new adventure for me and Adam.

-Wendy