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December 18th, 2018

Fewer than 10% of climbers on 8000m peaks are women. Needless to say, I was so grateful there was another woman on the trip. Christina Ochs, in the far right of this photo, is an alpinist, badass and one of the few other female climbers on the the mountain. Nyimi, in the middle, was our Tibetan liaison. In Tibet, all Westerners are required to have a Tibetan liaison travel with them. Nyimi is a young, ambitious woman, fluent in multiple languages, and we instantly bonded. She taught me the most important teachings of Buddhism are kindness and compassion, and I will always remember the time I spent with her and the way she greeted the world with a smile in her eyes. I hope that Nyimi and I cross paths again. #chofosho #mountainsareforeveryone Cho Oyu mini series brought to you by @keen #KEENambassador
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December 18th, 2018

Cho Oyu is located on the border between Tibet and Nepal. On our trip, we stayed entirely in Tibet (the summit is on the border). Lhasa is the capital of Tibet, and where we started our trip. It is one of the highest cities in the world at an altitude of 12,000’/3657m, and is home to the Potola Palace (pictured here), which was the residence of the Dalai Lama until 1959. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀One of my favorite parts of the entire trip was visiting the Potola Palace and the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Shigatse, which housed over 4,000 monks at its peak, and contains a gold-gilded Buddha that is 85ft/26m high (we couldn’t take pictures of it, you’ll have to go see it for yourself). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Unfortunately, Tibet isn’t an easy country for Westerners to visit. You have to get a special permit, and you can’t travel independently. If we are able to pull together funding for Everest in 2019, I will be delighted to revisit Lhasa and continue learning about the history and culture of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Cho Oyu mini series brought to you by @keen. #KEENambassador
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December 17th, 2018

Cho Oyu mini series: Climbing a big mountain doesn’t happen overnight. I thought about and researched options for climbing Cho Oyu for years, exploring a few different options for my first 8000m peak. In the end, since it was our first time to such altitude, we decided to go with a higher level of support and logistical coordination than we typically travel with in the mountains. It wasn’t an easy decision, but knowing how quickly things can go wrong at high altitude, I felt it was the right decision for our first time to give us a safety net. I’m conservative in how I approach the big mountains because I want to live to climb and ski until I’m 100! I love it so much! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀It took a huge weight off of our shoulders in the planning and the lead-up to our trip, and when things did go wrong on the mountain, I am so glad we had the support of the @alpenglowexpeditions team and logistics. Also, being with the guided group reduced some of the strain on my relationship with Rob, because we had other people to interact with (especially when I was so sick). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀We are so grateful for all the hours spent with Jaime Avila- @solitude66, the guide from Ecuador we got to climb with, pictured here. By the end, we felt like family. Hope to see you again soon, Jaime!Photo: @rob.lea ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Thanks to @KEEN and @clifbar for supporting this mini-series and trip. #KEENambassador #FeedYourAdventure #sponsored #bigmtndreams
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December 17th, 2018

Cho Oyu mini-series, brought to you by @KEEN @clifbar and @hypoxico: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Six weeks before leaving for Tibet, we started pre-acclimatizing at home in our @hypoxico tent. This pre-acclimatization period allowed us to do what @alpenglowexpeditions calls a “rapid ascent” of the mountain. 8000m peak expeditions can take anywhere from 4-8 weeks. Sleeping in the tent allowed us to do the trip in under a month. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀At first, we loved the novelty of sleeping in the tent! But as we got higher, it got harder and harder. One crux was when we started sleeping at 14,000’/4,267m and another harder crux came for us at 17,000’/5,181m. 17k felt like a ceiling for me, and hitting the plateau with that altitude foreshadowed what was in store for me on the mountain. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Photos: @rob.lea ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀puppy in second photo: @bella.versus.world #KEENambassador #FeedYourAdventure #sponsored
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December 16th, 2018

Cho Oyu mini series, brought to you by @KEEN and @clifbar. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Climbing and skiing Cho Oyu, the sixth highest peak in the world, has been a goal of mine for many years, but it was one that was always difficult to pull the trigger on. I kept thinking of all the reasons I couldn’t do it. Finally, this year, we decided to go. Maybe all the hesitation before was because I wasn’t ready in some way. Yet, it never feels 100% like the “right” time to go on a trip like this, and so many people deny themselves their deepest dreams (I admit to being guilty of self-sabotage in my life), only to live a life of quiet resentment. There’s something to be said for doing those things in life you really want to do. So we went… ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Video: flying into Lhasa Tibet by @rob.lea, me in the center, regretting letting him sit by the window. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀As I prepare the rest of this mini series, I’m eager to hear your questions for me about the trip! Let me know in the comments! #bigmtndreams #KEENambassador #FeedYourAdventure
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