White Out

Two amazing things happened this Friday: one, I finished my medical school requirements. 

Not for the rotation, not for the year, but COMPLETELY.  done. with. medical. school. requirements.

Second (and actually, equally as exciting) my sister came up to visit!

I wanted to show her a truly Vermont winter experience, so we went for a hike!  Now is probably a good time to tell you that the manfriend and I have just solidified all of our plans for a >20 day hike in Nepal.  

Yes, friends, we are going adventuring!  

And this time, it's not for away rotations or interviews, just us and some very, very large mountains.

In preparation - besides getting about a million administrative things done (plane tickets - check!  travel clinic with vaccines - check! learn what gaiters are - check!  order gaiters online - check! etc.) 

- is HIKE! a lot! in the winter!  and rock climb (even though we won't be doing any of this officially on our trip, it feels in the spirit of the trekking in large mountains, plus it's super fun)

photo source
by this amazing blog by a couple who did a very similar, if not the same, trek as we are!


I definitely feel like part of the fun of this trip has been in the planning and anticipation for it.

And a big part of that has been our "training" hikes.

(which we may have done anyways, but feel even more fun because we're training)  

***

Our hike was a lot more snowy and at a much (much, much, much!) lower altitude.

but it still felt pretty intense.

Chris took this photo, but if we include him, this was our trekking crew!

note Steve, the best dog ever

as well as how warm and colorful and energetic we look

(warning: some of these things do change as the hike goes on)

K and I in front of what could be rolling vermont hills

or just a white wall

couldn't see, didn't really matter

G and I in the snow - I'm so lucky to have the best sister in the whole wide world!

G gets fierce on the rock face as we reach towards the peak.

(and I zip up all my layers)

and yes, I used poles. for the first time ever.

no, not because I'm aging and my knees hurt more than they used to

(although those things may or may not be true)

but because they recommend them on our trek and I wanted to see if I liked them

the upshot: not really

G, C and I climbing in seriously deep snow up to the face

there are trees behind us

no, really.

you just can't tell because it's a WHITE OUT

and everything is all fluffy snow and WIND.

but we made it to the ridge!

and to our peak!

(not so warm and energetic now - but very, very happy)

as evidenced by the manfriend 

who sits proudly in the snow before we begin our 3 mile slide down :)

we ended the day with a Mardi Gras/80s themed dance party with a whole bunch of medical school friends that I haven't seen in ages.  it's so thrilling to have everyone back in one place and off of crazy schedules for a brief moment in time.  

sister visits, snowy treks, and 80s dance parties - 

can you think of a better way to spend a Saturday?

PS: stay tuned for more details about our trip to Nepal!

~~~~~~

"The mountains are calling - and I must go"

-John Muir

(one of my heroes, as you can see from my blog description above)