NEPAL 2018 In September 2018, I returned to Nepal for the first time in 20 years—the place that had inspired my life of travel. This time, however, three friends and I planned to climb and ski Mount Saipal, a previously unskied 23,068-foot peak in the country’s remote northwest. The area had seen little attention from the Western world due to a Maoist insurgence and difficult travel logistics. Six-teen days later—most of them spent weaving along exposed mountain roads in a jeep before undertaking a weeklong trek through Nepal’s Wild West—we set up base camp in a stun-ning alpine meadow at 11,500 feet. Being back in Nepal felt like I’d never left. I was having these intense flashbacks and then flashing forward to the person that had dedicated the last two decades to a life inspired by these mountains. For a time, it felt so peaceful. But it wouldn’t stay that way. My dear friend Forrest Coots makes his way across a handcrafted bridge on the way back from the mountain—defeated. We didn’t summit, I suffered from nasty frostbite, Forrest had severe stomach issues, and two of our party members were forced to seek shelter in an ice cave inside a bergschrund after the mountain avalanched during a second summit attempt. In many ways, this was Forrest’s trip, his dream, and the failed summit bid, along with the 9-month-old waiting for him at home, added some weight to his shoulders. Still, I felt fortunate to be walking away from a life-altering journey relatively unscathed, each step taking us closer to home. 068 The Ski Journal
The Ski Journal Volume 15, Issue 3: Page 68
