Following some deep soul searching, and the breakdown of a relationship, Heather Guluk made an impulsive decision to climb a mountain in the Himalayas, despite knowing very little about mountain climbing.

Heather says she was challenged both physically and mentally, but, after three gruelling weeks, arrived at the summit.  And that’s where a 10-year career of climbing some of the highest peaks in the world, including Mount Everest.

There have been some unexpected set-backs over her climbing career. Heather recalls a planned expedition to Mount Makalu (mack-a-loo), the 5th tallest mountain in the world.  After waiting for two months on the mountain, the weather finally forced the cancellation of the expedition to the summit. 

Another of Heather’s climbs also didn’t work out the way it was planned. Back in April of 2015, Heather was on her way up a mountain in Nepal with her guide, when a massive earthquake violently rolled the ground beneath them. Uninjured, it took a couple of days for the pair to get phone coverage - and that’s when they realized the seriousness of the situation. The Earthquake ended up killing nearly 9000 people, and injuring 25,000.

Heather says she may not have met her mountain climbing goals on that expedition, but her time helping locals offered her some of the best lessons of her life.

Heather tells us she recently moved to British Columbia to be closer to the mountains and the great outdoors, after convincing her boss in Toronto that she could work just as effectively from home. Because of Covid-19, however, Heather has had little time to explore her new community but has lots of plans once the threat passes.

Follow Heather's adventures on Instagram at @heathergeluk