Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Wynne Young scaling the Himalayas! Senior Wynne Young decided on a whim to spend the beginning of his 2024 trekking the mountains of Nepal, home to the famous Mount Everest. “My odyssey to Everest, honestly, began with a shower thought,” he explained, “and then grew with subsequent online research.” Being an enjoyer of trail running and learning languages, an international action-packed trip was right up his alley. According to National Geographic, Mount Everest stands at a proud 29,035 feet, making it “the highest point on the earth.” Young’s route to Everest Base Camp took him through the scenic lower Himalaya. While he did not climb to the very top, he made it to Everest Base Camp in 10 days, quite the respectable feat. What made his journey even more unbelievable was that he went “solo with no guides or porters.”

Young titled his “increase in confidence” as the best part of his trip, but he didn’t hesitate to add that “the spectacular views and travel immersion…were close seconds.” However, the average day in the life of excursionists like Young wasn’t exactly glorious. In fact, it was rather brutal. “I [trekked] in the Himalayas for miles where several thousand feet of elevation gain is the norm and [weathered] the freezing cold nights in teahouses with no HVAC in 0°F weather,” Young said. Similarly, in National Geographic’s online entry on Mount Everest, they dedicate an entire paragraph to warning aspiring climbers of the disturbing dangers that may obstruct their path to the summit. In fact, once hikers ascend beyond 26,000 feet, they reach the aptly named “death zone.” Nonetheless, Young recommends the solo hike to Everest Base Camp, specifically to those seeking an outdoor experience that is both “challenging and rewarding.”