A few weeks ago I had a deep conversation with a young Nepalese woman who after weeks of knowing her opened up to me and told me about her worries and problems. She did it with such grace and dignity that I could have only dreamt of at her age. And what she told me put me to tears whilst she strongly held it together. I still get frustrated at the sexism I sometimes face at home but what women in South Asia face is a whole different story. Our conversation left a long-lasting mark and reassured me that building Shanti Treks to empower women all over the world to live independently and freely as they wish is my true calling.

Hence, I was super excited when I could recruit two young women from Kathmandu to join Surya and I on a scouting trek for a future Shanti Trek in the Annapurna region. Both of them had never trekked in the Himalaya before yet loved nature and being outdoors. And both of them had finished their Akasha Traineeship a year ago. Now the Akasha Academy and I offer them the opportunity to pursue a career in the trekking industry and this trek was their first step towards it. You can read all about my collaboration with Akasha Academy to empower women in my previous blog.

In the end, we were a group of five, as one of the volunteers from Akasha Academy joined as well. Together we took a bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara and from there a jeep to the start of the trek. In total, we trekked for seven days through the Orange Kingdom of freshly harvested tangerine trees, beautiful blossoming Rhododendron forests and later along the ridge of Mohare Danda, Poon Hill and Khopra Danda offering stunning views from dust until  dawn over the breathtaking Annapurna and Dhaulagiri range, two of Nepal’s 8000+ meter mountains. These are well-known viewpoints, yet Surya showed us a route that crossed the beaten tracks only a few times, so that we still felt like the only ones hiking along these majestic mountains.

The first few days we got used to the routine of waking up early and hiking all day, and to adapt to the heavy backpacks and steady pace. Then Surya and I started training sessions in orientation and first aid and emphasised what it is like to be a trekking guide. It made me realise what a hard job it actually is. You sleep last, you eat last, you shower last. Your bed is the most uncomfortable, your food the most basic and if there is no hot water left, you shower cold or not at all. If your guests forget their hiking poles, you hand over yours; if they do not have proper gloves, you give yours; if they run out of water, you carry some in spare. If your guests sleep badly, you cheer them up at breakfast. If you sleep badly, you emphasise the rest your body got, nevertheless. If your guests snap on you, you give them space to do so. Yet, if you have a bad day, you never lose your temper in front of them.

Putting it like that it sounds like an awful job, but I do not mind any of it, because food, sleep and hygiene become secondary to me in the mountains. The feeling of being wild and free puts me in such a state of zen that I do not mind any of these deprivations. Calling the mountains my workplace is the biggest joy to me and makes everything else secondary. Yet, it takes a special love for the outdoors to think like that.

We had  agreat week together and I enjoyed sharing my journey of becoming a guide with them. How five years ago I was trekking in in this mountain range all by myself – sometimes scared – and without a glimpse of how my life would change in the coming years. Never in a million years would I have thought to lead a group of trekkers through the Himalaya only five years later. I shared the doubts and worries I had and told her about all the voices of doubt around me. I admitted that I am still scared and overwhelmed sometimes, but I stopped looking at the big picture and started focusing on the small steps. Instead of only showing them the mountains, I showed them what themountains mean to me and what I am willing to sacrifice to call them my workplace.

In hindsight, my goal is no longer to support women to become trekking guides. But what I want to offer instead is a safe space where they can explore the mountains, and push themselves to their limits to realise what they are truly capable of. I went on a trek to show young women my work as a trekking guide. In the end, I came home a much wiser woman myself. I am realising more and more that, whilst I founded Shanti Treks to full-fill my dream of being wild and free, it is an endless source of learning and of becoming a better version of my true self.