I went on an Island Peak expedition with Sitaram and his team — unfortunately, a big storm hit while we were on the way, and after that, the snow made the trail super exhausting for me. So I ended up turning back at base camp.

That said, the team was amazing the whole time, both going up and coming down! My climbing guide, Raju, was super patient, friendly, and clearly experienced. And Sitaram was awesome too — right from Kathmandu, he was super supportive. The airline lost my luggage and I had to buy everything the day before the expedition… super stressful, but both Sitaram and Raju were really helpful and calm through it all.

Also, the porter I met in Lukla was super kind and friendly. He didn’t speak much English, so we couldn’t chat a lot, but you could tell he was a genuinely good person.

Overall, even though I didn’t make it to the summit, it was an amazing experience!