Shortly upon my return to the U.S. from my unforgettable Everest adventure, I made a visit to Osha Liang’s head office in Houston, Texas. Not only did I get a chance to catch up on some work I missed while I was on Everest, but the Houston office hosted a “tell all” happy hour where I got a chance to share my adventure with my fellow colleagues. As you’ll see in the slideshow of pictures below, there were a lot of Everest cupcakes, OL flag sugar cookies and gummy bears! The Osha Liang flag, which made it to Everest’s summit, is autographed and will be framed for the office. A memento of vision, determination and success!
Of course, you may all be wondering what’s next for me. To be honest: I have no idea.
I’m considering other major mountains that are more on the technical end of the spectrum. For example, I have the Cassin Ridge and Ama Dablam on my bucket list.
Denali’s Cassin Ridge is a true classic. It’s 8,000’ of technical terrain, including steep snow, ice and rock, to the summit of North America’s tallest peak. One of the most sought after climbs in the world.
Ama Dablam, on the other hand, is considered the Matterhorn of the Himalaya. It’s famous for its aesthetics and pure exposure during the climb. While not as high as Mount Everest, it offers more technical climbing challenges.
But, these are all plans for the distant future. At the moment, I’m still digesting my Everest experience. Today I received a reminder that I have to provide a picture of me on the summit. Without it, the government of Nepal will not issue the summit certificate (in order to prevent false summit claims).
I also still haven’t fully recovered from the physical exhaustion of the climb. I lost almost 40lbs, and by now I’ve gained back about 20lbs.
To help me recover, I started weight lifting. It’s not something I ever seriously considered before, but the effects are so dramatic that it’s probably worth pursuing. Looking back, just a few weeks ago, I was so physically weak that I even had trouble staying awake for an entire day. When I showed up at the gym for the first time after the climb, any weight, no matter how light, was a serious challenge. Fortunately, soon after, I started seeing dramatic improvements, and that trend is still intact. Seeing significant progress every week is incredibly satisfying.
Let’s see where this all goes – stay tuned!
Markus Takes On Everest 