Grocery Shopping for Mt. Everest

Before I went to Broad Peak in 2009, I had to buy half of my equipment. Another down sleeping bag, good to -20F, a down jacket, insulated pants, overboots, an alpine harness, balaclava, duffel bags, carabiners, goggles, my soft-shell bib, a camera, gaiters, and probably some stuff I can't remember. For Everest in 2014 I upgraded to a down suit, and a new pair of boots. This time around it's as simple as basically replacing some dry bags and stuff sacks which have worn out. I'm still thinking about getting some foot warmers, electric foot warmers. I've never used them before, but I like my toes.

The only other thing is grocery shopping. You see, it takes a lot of food to go on an expedition. Now, the expedition company takes care of everything between basecamp and Kathmandu, but on the mountain, it's up to each person to have food. I have also learned that having nice food, like some cheeses, at basecamp go a long way.

Saturday I went grocery shopping at REI, bought a couple dry bags too, but it was pretty anticlimactic. I still have to get some batteries, because my expensive lithium ion ones are actually nearing the end of the their life, seven years later. It's funny standing in the checkout line, with less stuff than half the people in line, yet I'm going to Mt. Everest!

I hope that I can help motivate people to actually go after big dreams. God has blessed my life with more that I know what to do with. I have my health, my wealth, and happiness. It just seems logical to me, that I should try and do what I can to be the best I can. Pushing the limits of human capability, possibly being one of the first 200 to climb Mt. Everest without bottled oxygen, it's a metaphor for trying something difficult. And when I'm in line at the Madison, Wisconsin REI with my groceries that I might very well be eating at the South Col in six weeks, making a trip to the top of the world seem almost mundane it's so that you can see that I'm just a person, just like you with faults, problems, baggage, and goals. I don't know what your Mount Everest is, but it is possible.