There’s no blog post as usual this month.

It’s because as you read this, I’m somewhere on the trek between Everest Base Camp and Cho La Pass in the Himalayan Mountain Range. My family and I are on an adventure in one of the most awe inspiring landscapes on earth.

It’s a journey that has lived in my imagination for most of my life.

Like many, I grew up captivated by the story of Mt Everest.

Not only by the well-known names of Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, but by all those who came before them. The true pioneers of the early expeditions of the 1920’s … Mallory, Irvine, Finch, Norton, Somerville, Younghusband and so many others.

They were pathfinders and innovators.

Possessed of a remarkable ability to withstand long periods of incredible hardship.

Their stories are filled with courage, mystery, a pursuit against almost impossible odds and an attraction to a goal that always seemed just beyond reach.

For a generation shaped by the loss of an entire generation of young people in the Great War (1914 -18), Everest came to represent more than a mountain. It became a symbol of resilience, of purpose, perhaps even of redemption.

To me, through the passage of time, this meaning has endured.

To now find ourselves here … not reading the stories, and staring at the old black and white photos, but walking in the very same mountains, experiencing the same vastness, silence and grandeur – feels both surreal and deeply grounding.

What’s more, we are fortunate to be guided by Sean Disney, one of South Africa’s great adventurers.

His achievements are extraordinary.

Sean has summited Everest twice (from both sides), trekked to both poles and as his wonderful book describes … “all the pointy bits in between.” But what stands out most is not what he has done, but how he carries it – with humility, steadfastness, and reverence for the mountains.

For our family, simply getting here has been an achievement.

It has required planning, commitment, sacrifice and no small amount of discomfort.

It’s been a reminder of how important it is to set goals that stretch us. Not just goals that ‘make the inevitable happen’, but ones that get us out of hiding. That require change, growth, and a willingness to step into the unknown to be achieved.

Getting here is also a reminder of how precious time is.

• How little of it is truly discretionary.
• How much of it passes by unnoticed.

And how precious it is to have health, family, and the opportunity to share meaningful experiences together.

These are not new ideas of course. But in the thin air of the mountains, they feel very real.

So this month, rather than adding something new, I invite you to revisit two reflections that feel especially relevant from here.

And so from high up here in the Himalayas … wishing you a brilliant April.

See you again in May.

Grant