7 minute read
Climbing higher
A TREK TO MOUNT EVEREST REUNITES WWU ALUMNI
by Emily (Huso) Logan ’17
As snow fell on a misty November evening in Nepal, a bold group of trekkers including three WWU alumni ascended the winding trail to Kala Patthar in the Himalayas. Just as the group reached the top of this popular vista point, the clouds parted to reveal a majestic view of Mt. Everest, its peak glowing a warm orange hue in the last rays of sunset.
The world’s tallest mountain at 29,029 feet above sea level, Everest was one of the sights that drew the friends from the comfort of their West Coast homes to the rugged Nepal alpine region. “You feel like the smallest thing on earth in the presence of such big, impressive mountains,” says Kelsey Zuppan ’13. “Seeing all the spectacular things He has created, you cannot deny the amazingness of God.”
The previous summer, Kelsey called up friends Tommy Dalrymple ’17 and Monica (Carr) Dalrymple ’17 for Nepal travel recommendations and tips, as the pair had visited a different region of Nepal with another group a few months before. Although Tommy and Monica’s years at WWU did not overlap with Kelsey’s, the three travel nurses met through their Walla Walla and Big Lake Youth Camp friend networks. When Kelsey needed a place to stay during a three-month travel assignment, Monica and Tommy opened their home to her, and they have been friends ever since. During the phone call, Kelsey explained the trek she was planning to take: a large loop trail that would hit major sites such as Lobuche East, Island Peak, and Everest Base Camp. The trek would take 21 days of strenuous hiking and would hit elevations as high as 20,000 feet. “Do you want to come with us?” she asked. “Monica and I were like, yeah! We want to go back! We want to go see Mount Everest,” Tommy says. When asked what drew them to this unusual challenge, Kelsey responds effusively: the Himalayas. “It’s the tallest mountain range in the world!” she says. “It was kind of a little bit of a bucket list thing for me. But also, there's so many things to explore just in our own backyard, I didn't know if I would ever do it. Then circumstances really made that a very viable option last fall.”
In October of 2023, the group, which also included Bethani King ’12, Stephen Erich, and Sharla Erich, set out on the Three Passes Trek, a route that traverses Kongma La, Cho La, and Renjo La passes. The trek involves hiking six to seven hours a day at challenging elevations in barren wilderness. Nights are spent at remote guest tea houses tucked into the rugged landscape. “There's hot tea and hot food and a mattress there,” Tommy says. “All you have to do is throw down your sleeping bag on the mattress and go to sleep.”
Many groups choose to complete the trek with the aid of local guides and porters, who assist with carrying gear and navigating the rough Himalayan terrain. Hiring guides helps not only to make the trip easier, but also to support the local economy, which relies heavily on tourism during the short climbing seasons. Chet, one of the group’s local guides, told them that his work as a guide for their trip would be his sole source of income for the year and would allow him to support his family. “The guides were so attentive to the littlest details and had absolutely endless patience,” Kelsey says. “They do this trek over and over with so many people. Nothing is new to them. They take an interest in you, and their goal is to make this as great of an experience for you as possible. The way the guides treated us is a pretty beautiful picture of how we can serve one another and also how God takes care of us.”
With the guides’ care and assistance, and clear weather on most days, the circumstances for the trip were ideal in many ways. However, the trek was not without its challenges. A common cold circulated among the group, with every trekker struggling with symptoms at some point in the three-week journey. Unfortunately, Bethani became so sick she was unable to continue. A porter accompanied her back the way they had come. “That was an unfortunate time in the trip,” Kelsey observes. Meanwhile, the trail’s extreme elevations took their toll. “The trip challenges you physically in ways that you don't expect,” Monica says. “It really made me develop grit and perseverance to keep going.” With less oxygen available in the air at high elevations, taking just a few steps can leave you breathless. “I would take two steps, and then I would just feel like I had sprinted up a flight of stairs,” Tommy says. Under these extreme conditions, it took both mental and physical determination to keep climbing.
In spite of the challenges, Kelsey, Monica, and Tommy enjoyed making lifelong memories on their Himalayan adventure. In late October, the group reached the highest elevation of their trip so far when they crested Renjo La Pass. On a ridge the width of a sidewalk, the group had a handstand competition, the blood rushing to their heads as they balanced, a rocky incline on one side and a precipitous drop on the other. The trip also included a celebration of Kelsey’s birthday at a guest house with what they describe as a “hiker’s trash cake,” a tortilla they spread with peanut butter and sprinkled with brownie bites and candy. “They did a great job. I was so impressed,” Kelsey laughs. “They made a cake at, like, 17,000 feet.”
For Tommy, the friendships and connections he built on the trek are part of what made the experience so unforgettable. “You don’t walk with someone for 21 days without getting to know them really well,” he says. The deep conversations and significant time in each other’s company allowed the group to really bond. “It was so cool to basically become family with not only the other people on the trek, but with the guides, too.”
Back home in the U.S., Kelsey, Monica, and
Tommy urge others to dream big, to appreciate God’s breathtaking creations, and to seize opportunities for adventure. “I thought it would be cool to go trekking in the Himalayas or to see Everest with my own eyes, but I really thought I might never actually do that in my lifetime,” Kelsey reflects. “But it happened! I still can't believe sometimes that I saw with my very own eyes the tallest mountain in the world. I was in its presence.” Monica reminds us that although the idea of a “trek” can sound intense, you do not have to be a highly skilled or experienced hiker to go to Nepal or see the Himalayas. “It truly is a very accessible place because of the amazing guides who are there,” she says. “If you are ever in a position to be able to go and see some part of the Himalayas, totally take it and support the awesome guides and people who live there.”
