Nepal has been an amazing learning experience for me as well as the rest of the Vertical Nepal team. One thing I learned is that the Nepal people are amazingly resilient. Whether you're living in the mountains, the valleys or Katmandu, all places have their own challenges to overcome. Trifc Pictures Courtesy of Robert Rose Villages in the mountains are maintained through a web of rock trails traveled by porters, yaks and mules. Often these trails, though fairly wide, are

Had a great time on the climbing wall with the TRIFC kids. Not sure how it was going to go with the kids and some adults being visually impaired, but they loved it. We climbed for at least 3 hours and everyone go at least two turns. We had a banquet right at the climbing wall then gave out Granite Gear backpacks to the kids…so cool. We then went for a long bus ride to school/care center for disabled kids. A nice facility though damaged in part by the quake. The team will be

The team arrived safely into Kathmandu from Lukla yesterday, tired and worn from the previous weeks of climbing, but safe. The next few days the Vertical Nepal team will be volunteering with TRIFC's kids helping construct an indoor rock climbing gym, delivering the GG backpacks donated by Granite Gear and stuffed with school supplies and more. See how you can contribute with humanitarian efforts in Nepal with the Vertical Nepal expedition's current partnerships:

Our team trekked from Namche to Cheplung to Lukla yesterday and that night had a short celebration of laughs and hugs as we said goodbye to your porters; Purna, Chandra, and Balle. They have been a source of inspiration, friendship and education about an amazing culture. On our way we stopped by Cheplung. I visited with carpenters there working alongside stone masons to rebuild a Tea House. They were hewing lumber into posts and using long-handled plans to shave down the r

The Vertical Nepal team has managed to collect a snow sample from the summit of Ama Dablam. THINNING MOUNTAIN GLACIERS Dr. Natalie Kehrwald, University of Venice: "Glaciers around the world are retreating. The majority of this retreat occurs at the toes, the lowest elevations, of glaciers, where the glaciers then tend to melt upslope. However, my research shows that glaciers are also thinning, or losing mass from their upper surfaces, at elevations as high as 6000 meters abov