What’s Next?

This past Summer(2017), I worked at a camp, I went to a camp and I visited family. In those months I have spent much time away from the mountains. It has been weird not training everyday and going into the backcountry every weekend. At the end of my busy summer I did an amazing trip; my family did the Spearhead traverse the first few days of September. My first real experience in the backcountry was on that traverse and it sparked my love for the mountains. When I was there for my 4th traverse, I dreamed up my next goal. Immediately after climbing Mt. Logan, I was asked so many times what I was going to do next. At that time I didn’t even know if I wanted to do another big expedition. I had loved those weeks so much, but they had also been the hardest of my life. During my summer I didn’t have a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do come the Fall, the Winter and the Spring. Since I am going to Quebec for an exchange for three months this Winter/Spring, I didn’t think I would be able to do something big this Spring. However, when I was on the Spearhead I had time to think, I had somewhat forgotten how much I love the feeling of being in the mountains. That also scared me a lot; how little I had thought of the mountains in the past season, how I hadn’t longed for them. It made me realise that I could have a life without the mountains, and I would rarely think what could have been. But the feeling of excitement I got when I was thinking of what I could do next was unlike anything I had experienced in months. There was nothing I knew that could make me as happy as spending time in the mountains and pushing my limits.

That weekend I had many thoughts blowing around my mind, but the one that I proposed to my parents was climbing Denali, North America’s tallest mountain. From my experience in the Yukon I knew that I could handle the cold and the altitude enough to make summits of around 6000 metres. I also knew that I like long trips of moderate energy exertion(for the most part). However, I also knew that Denali would be different because of how many people go there. I am not sure how I will like being around so many more people, but I think it will be cool to experience a scene that is so different than my last climb. For more information on my trip I will be creating a new page on my website called ‘Denali’. Thanks to everyone that is reading this and I hope 2018 brings you all exciting things.