March is here. Marching forth as usual.
I freaking love March. March is filled with two things that I love: memory competitions and the climbing season on Everest.
More than anything to me, March is Everest month. One of the most memorable experiences I ever put myself through was my 2011 Everest climb. It was just a year ago today that I started to pack up all my gear for the trip. March 14th I won the 2011 USA Memory Championships and 2 weeks later on March 26th, I was already on my way to Nepal. To me, that trip will always be embedded in March somehow.
What a roller-coaster ride that month was.
This year's March will be a little calmer. Just a memory competition and no Everest. Next year will be ALL Everest and no memory competition (Well, maybe. We'll see). Either way, the 2012 Everest season is about to begin. I wish I could be there again, but other commitments and just plain exhaustion (I'm still mentally exhausted from last years climb, believe it or not) have made me postpone the big return climb till next year. But preparations are already well under way.
Here are a few updates for me and Climb For Memory:
1. 2012 USA Memory Competition - Training hard as usual. Competition is on March 24th.
2. 2012 Climb For Memory Climb - My previous plans were to climb the Matterhorn/Eiger, but after some more thought, I realized it made more sense to do a better-for-Everest kind of prep climb. So, I'll be going to Peru's Cordillera Blanca in July to climb the mountain picture seen above (Alpamayo). It's often referred to as the most beautiful mountain in the world (or the mountain from the Paramount Pictures intro). More on this peak later.
3. Lookout for a gala/fundraiser in April in the local Miami area. Also looking into doing an Everest-themed crossfit workout event.
Also, on a side note, since I won't be on Everest this year, I'll be releasing some footage/video (finally!) I took last year in conjunction with the progression of the season, along side some blog posts describing what's going on over there.