Goodwill and adventure mix on Himalayan trek

Columbia Falls resident Nancy Cohn spent 17 days last fall trekking through a good portion of the mountains of Nepal surrounding Mount Everest. Along the way, Cohn delivered medicine to a clinic, warm clothing to those in need and messages from home to students in Nepal.

“We’re not here for ourselves,” she said. “We’re here to feed the hungry and clothe the poor. I was fortunate enough to go and I wanted to give back — it’s just as important as the trip.”

In addition to working as a clinical laboratory technologist at North Valley Hospital, Cohn volunteers as a youth group leader at St. Richard’s Catholic Church in Columbia Falls, with the Glacier Symphony and as a caretaker for a man living in Big Mountain Village.

Cohn delivered 10 pounds of medication from North Valley Hospital to Khunde Hospital in Nepal along with 40 pounds of clothing collected during a drive at North Valley Hospital to the Sherpa people.

She also involved her youth group. Middle-school aged members made paper cards and included their e-mail address to begin a relationship with students at Khumjung Hillary School. Nepalese students in turn wrote cards of their own in English, and Cohn brought them back. The church group plans to send care packages to the Nepalese students to help fill classrooms that Cohn described as primitive.

“Those were the three things I really wanted to do as far as goodwill,” she said. “I feel lucky I had the opportunity to give back. I was so glad I was able to stop and talk to the kids.”

Cohn spent 17 days walking, climbing and exploring the Himalayas. She climbed to Kala Patthar at 18,500 feet for the best view of Mount Everest. The following day, she hiked to Everest Base Camp at 17,400 feet.

“It was the best thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said. “It’s been on my bucket list for six or eight years.”

Cohn spends her summers hiking in Glacier National Park and her winters on the slopes of Big Mountain, but the high altitude journey proved a challenge, and she found herself working harder and walking slowly.

“I had no idea whether I’d adjust or not,” she said. “Even if you’ve been there before and do fine, altitude sickness is not something you are immune from getting just because you’ve done it. The lack of oxygen takes its toll. You are walking really slow because it’s that hard.”

Cohn said she enjoyed meeting the Sherpa people and seeing how they live and work.

“The Sherpa people are the most resourceful people I’ve ever seen,” she said. “They make use of everything, and they are happy with so little. They have green veggie gardens growing in November. They heat only with yak dung and leaves because there are no trees at that elevation.”

During her long trek, Cohn visited several villages and stopped at Buddhist and Hindu temples. And she gave something to those in need.

“I’ve been back two months and I think about it every single day,” she said. “I have dreams about being there. I will go back in the future, I’m sure of it.”