Every so often, someone asks me, “Why Everest?”

They ask with curiosity, often laced with a bit of skepticism, and often with the unspoken assumption that maybe—just maybe—it’s time to take on something less ambitious.

Something safer.

And in my case, also something more age-appropriate.

After all, my daughter Phoebe has proclaimed me a Geezer. Since then I’ve led a successful expedition to the 8,000 metre peak Gasherbrum 2, trekked 40 days and 40 nights across a rather challenging section of the Great Himalayan Trail, qualified as a Climbing Wall Instructor, gotten my Sailing certificate to captain up to a 24 metre sailboat, competed in the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in New Zealand and at every opportunity, launch myself off mountains in Nepal, France, Dubai, Thailand and now Italy with my paraglider.

If anything, the draw of Everest doesn’t fade with age, it sharpens. After my 10 expeditions to Everest, from standing at the South Summit without oxygen and not a soul in sight, to returning to guide two groups successfully, summiting with Sibusisu Vilane, the first black African to reach the top, there really isn’t much that can match that march up the summit ridge and standing at the top of the world.

It’s not just about standing on the summit. It’s about what Everest is – simply the tallest point on Earth.

There are so few absolute, absolutes, in life and Everest is one of them.

You have either been to the top of the world, or you haven’t.

And for the naysayers, there are still great new routes to climb, other seasons to climb in, other sides of the mountain to explore where you are still lucky to see even a handful of people. There are routes with no trail or fixed ropes to the top, or even at the bottom. It really isn’t that difficult to still find a way up Everest that no one has set foot on.

As I have been to the top of Everest twice already on the South Side, I want to return again to the North side, to Tibet, and ascend the much more remote and less traveled North Ridge to the top of the world.

The route is exceptional, direct, up to the spectacular North Col, the Ridge, along the top of the North Face and up onto the Northeast ride, over the steps and on to the summit. At your feet, the views out over the Tibetan plateau are certainly some of the finest in the world.

Returning with a hand-picked team, journeying through Lhasa, seeing the immensity of the North Face and the magnificence of Everest from the North Col can only be described as ones of life’s greatest adventures. And once you start thinking about it and asking ‘why?’ and then thinking of alternatives, sadly, anything else is just lower, both literally and figuratively.

Nothing compares to Everest.

Everest will reflect back everything you bring to it: your preparation, your doubts, your endurance and your reasons for being there. When you train for Everest, you’re not just conditioning your body, you are committing to a new mindset. You’re choosing to focus, to recalibrate, and to set a clear goal in a world that rarely demands that kind of clarity from us anymore.

And that singular focus can be very liberating, because when you are headed for Everest, everything shrinks in comparison. There’s something powerful in aligning your energy around one clear, audacious goal. Everest doesn’t allow for distractions. It demands attention, commitment, and presence—qualities that often get diluted in the day-to-day routine of modern life.

In day-to-day life, the immediate often ends up overwhelming what’s important to you.

For more experienced climbers that I speak to, Everest becomes more than a physical challenge. It becomes a way to push back against the cultural expectation that you should start settling, slowing, or stepping aside.

You don’t have to step aside, not yet. And if you’re still reading this, maybe you shouldn’t. New lightweight equipment, better oxygen systems and improved training systems can all be used to maximise our potential.

To climb Everest is to feel deeply alive. There is no autopilot on the mountain. Every breath above 8,000 metres, is a conscious decision. That kind of presence is rare and invaluable.

You don’t need to be the fastest. You don’t need to be first. And Everest doesn’t care how old you are. But it does care how prepared you are. And how willing you are to meet it on its own terms.

One of the most overlooked truths about an Everest climb is that it never really ends. There’s the training before, the challenge during, and the integration into your life, as an Everest summiter, afterwards. You don’t come home the same. You bring parts of the mountain back with you—into how you move, how you think, and how you live. There is, as Steve Bell, the founder of Jagged Globe so aptly put it, “Life before Everest, and there is life after Everest.”

Everest North side is perhaps the perfect mountain. The approach via Lhasa and across the plateau, infused with the culture and the diffused light of high altitude immediately immersing you in another world. The full view of the North Ridge and North Face from the top of the Pang La pass on the drive in is humbling, staring at the full expanse of Everest. And the route itself, sneaking into the East Rongbuk Glacier in Mallory’s footsteps – then onto the North Col with the entire mountain stacked above you. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, like it anywhere else on Earth. So we return to that magic.

And because sometimes, to feel fully alive, it’s very rewarding to put yourself in a place where every breath counts.

Want to join us? I’m leading a guided Everest expedition with Jagged Globe to the North Ridge, designed for climbers, not tourists, who are ready for a big challenge—mentally, physically, and personally. You don’t need to be superhuman. You just need to be ready to train with purpose, climb with focus, and a desire to return home stronger than you left.

 

Nine Lives – Expeditions to Everest – or should you prefer French, Neuf vies – Expeditions A L’Everest. Both editions in print and for immediate download in digital format.