Tag: Interview

Who else can you discuss summiting Mt. Everest and dodging polar bears with other than Ryan Waters, of Mountain Professionals? I grabbed Ryan just before he left for Everest 2021. We talked about Everest, of course, and COVID, quarantine, and the confusion around photographs taking and sharing. But we also went into his polar trips to the North and South Poles and his encounters with Polar Bears!!! Scary stuff!!

It’s rare to catch Maya Sherpa for an interview but I did as she was leaving for a double 8000-meter climb of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. She holds the record for most 8000ers for a Nepali female at 6 with Everest, Lhotse, Manaslu, Kanchenjunga, Cho Oyu, and K2. We talked about how a girl from rural Nepal broke into the male-dominated world of mountaineering, not only as a climber but also as a guide. She talked about her now 11-year-old daughter and how she wants to use their climbing to inspire others, especially this next generation of young ladies. An informative and inspirational interview with something for everyone. Enjoy!

In this Everest 2021 interview with Lukas Furtenbach, operating on the Nepal side, we cover his advanced use of technology, how he will manage his team given COVID and more.

Mark Pattison aims to be the first ex-NFL player to summit both Everest and Lhotse in 24-hours. I interview Mark and longtime NFL coach, and Mark’s training partner for Everest 2021. We cover how training for Everest compared to the NFL, team dynamics, mental toughness, and more.

As I covered in a recent post, Everest 2021 is coming on soon. There are questions as to whether operators should run their programs at all. A few have canceled their Everest ’21 but many, including Asian Trekking, are moving forward with confidence. Early reports suggest Nepal could issue well over 300 foreigner permits, high but under the record 382 in 2019. Also, it appears that COVD is slowing in Nepal with over one third of the population already vaccinated.