Discover Wellness

How has 2023 been for you? Are you able to keep up with the New Year's resolutions? 

My 2023 has been good. There are a few things that did not go as I planned. But that's life. And I debated for quite some time whether I wanted to share this story or not as one of my 2023 highlights. I wish I could have shared a different story.

I attempted Mont Blanc in September this year. Climbing Mont Blanc has been on my bucket list for a long time, and I determined 2023 was going to be the year! I trained for endurance by running, swimming, hiking and strength workouts. I was ready to summit the highest mountain in Europe.

Honestly, I was scared. This is not just a hike. This is mountaineering. I hadn't spent a lot of time in winter mountains and wasn't sure if I had enough experience to know what to do in snow mountains under emergency. Plus, this is a mountain that claims 100 deaths a year. When I climbed snow mountains in New Zealand many years ago, the professional mountain guide told me his friends who had mountaineering guide certificates just died at Mont Blanc. They had mountain experience. They knew mountains. Still, they fell off the mountain.

I know I often push myself to achieve goals. But this time, I promised that I would turn around if something did not go smoothly. Coming back alive was success, and it was okay to quit with or without reaching to the summit. Still, I was unsure if I could keep the promise when the mountains were just right in front of me. 

It was a perfect day. I didn't have high altitude sickness. It was a clear day at 30F with relatively small winds. I wasn't tired. I was walking at the good pace, keeping up with other clients. Then, something unexpected happened. My guide just wanted to quit. He told me that I could probably had enough stamina to get to the top, but he wasn't just feeling it. We got to the 4,650 meter zone and just had another one hour to the top (Mont Blanc is 4,805 meter (15,766 feet) high). It was still a morning, and we had plenty of time with perfect weather. Then, it was unacceptable for him to say something like this. I was so upset and ready to argue with him. But I had a promise to keep. I needed to turn around. It was painful. It was hard for me to see other clients kept going.