HAVE ALWAYS BEEN fascinated by mountains.
Asa childI wouldvisitmygrandparentsontheIsle
ofArranin Scotlandandheadforthehills.Thereis something
aboutimmersingyourselfin theruggednessofnatureandthe
perspectivethatthesummitaffordsyou– I guessthat’sthereason
theycallit a bird’s-eyeview.Thedesiretoclimbis intrinsicto
humannatureandalwaysgivena positiveconnotation– ‘thumbs
up’,‘lookup’,‘goupin life’.
When I worked with chef Marc Veyrat in France,
I would climb in the Alps on my day off. This created
a desire to climb a ‘big’ mountain before I turned 30.
Of course, the biggest mountain I could see was Mont
Blanc, which had an elevation of 4810 metres – no small
undertaking. But the exhilaration and feeling of
achievement I had on reaching the top was incredible- I was hooked and set about identifying trekking
peaks. Two years later, I headed to South America to
climb Aconcagua, which, at 6962 metres, is the highest
mountain in the Southern and Western Hemispheres.
It was a big step up (particularly in altitude), but joining
an expedition made it more of an adventure.
Of course, the risks are real, and my family was
concerned about my wish to go to greater and more
dangerous heights. I assured them I had no desire to
climb Mount Everest, but I wanted to visit the Himalayas.
The immense geography of the region is a strong pull
for any mountaineer.
It wasn’t until I arrived in Sydney eight years ago that
I began looking at joining an expedition. I found one
that summitted not just one, but two mountains over
26 days – Mera Peak (6476m) and Island Peak (6189m)
across the Amphu Labtsa Pass (5845m) – a real
adventure. But then I spent the next four years trying to
opena restaurantandthesubsequentfourlaunchingandrunning
Firedoor(Hastie’sacclaimedSurryHillsrestaurant).Butthetrip
wasstillat thebackofmymind,aswasanothermilestone:I was
keentoclimbtheHimalayasbeforemy40thbirthday.
It hadbeeneightyearssincemylastclimb,somyfitnesswasn’t
whatit usedtobe.ButI feltit wouldbegoodtofinallytaketime
out,torefreshmymentalandphysicalhealth.I alsodecidedto
takepartin theexpeditiontohelpraisemoneyforR U OK?,
a charitythatraisesawarenessaroundmentalhealth.
Climbinga mountainmayrevealthe‘blissin solitude’,butit also
requiresyoutoconnectwiththepeoplearoundyou.I contacted
WorldExpeditions,whichwasstillrunningthetripI had
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GETTY IMAGES
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
NIKKI TO
A spectacular view of the
Hongu Valley. ABOVE: Lennox
makes an acclimatisation trek
with Mera looming in the
background. OPPOSITE
(clockwise from top): camping
at Chunbu Kharka; walking up
the Hinku Valley; (inset) a
couple of cute and cuddly
locals; making a temple visit
on the way to Pangum La.