The Cuckoo is once more singing her distinctive song here in Kathmandu, heralding the arrival of spring in Nepal, and with the spring comes mountaineers as the expedition season opens and the world’s highest peaks become the focal point of the great outdoors.
In January, Amrit headed up to Phortse in the Khumbu to run the Khumbu Climbing Centre’s annual Ice Climbing training course, preparing high altitude workers for the season ahead. This year they were joined by the Full Circle Everest team, the first all-Black team to attempt to summit Mount Everest, led by Amrit’s KCC mentor and good friend Philip Henderson, as part of their expedition preparations.
Amrit was with the team last summer on Mount Rannier in the USA, training alongside them and documenting their journey. He was of course with them in January during their time at KCC and will be joining them once more as part of the Full Circle Everest team.
This will be Amrit’s second Everest expedition, his first with National Geographic back in 2019, where he was a part of the team who installed the highest weather station in the world on the Balcony, at 27,300ft. For him it was all about the science and not the summit.
This time around, it is the message and not the mountain that is drawing him back. Fewer than 10 Black climbers have summitted Mount Everest but this team is hoping to change that and in doing so, highlight the barriers that continue to exist for Black communities in accessing the outdoors. It is hoped that this historic attempt will inspire the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts, educators, leaders, and mountaineers of colour to continue chasing their personal summits.
To follow Amrit and the Full Circle Everest team on their historic journey please follow these links:
https://www.fullcircleeverest.com
As the team gathers here in Kathmandu ready for their departure later this week, we wish them a safe and successful expedition and look forward to welcoming them back again at the end of May.
Recent Comments