LOWA BLOG

We’re sure you have received lots of communications, from companies and organizations, about COVID-19, but we wanted to let you know our thoughts and our plans going forward.

Late last year my brother George and I began the journey to Mt Everest. As a Hillary, perhaps our whole lives have led to that journey, but in 2019 it became very real.

We were pouring immense effort and time into improving our mountain fitness and skill. I spent a month in the French Alps running steep mountain trails and doing long traverses and by the time we arrived in Kathmandu to begin our Mt Ama Dablam expedition, we felt strong and confident.

The highest we had climbed in the Himalaya’s before this was 6,200m; a long shot from our ambitions.

Last October, I had the chance to visit Great Sand Dunes National Park, the geological phenomenon wedged between the San Luis Valley and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Colorado.

At the entrance to the main dunefield, I excitedly laced up my Lowa Innox Pro GTX Mid’s, anticipating a hike to the top of Star Dune (8,617 feet), the tallest dune in the park and thus the tallest dune in North America.

In the fall of 2019, LOWA athlete Sunny Stroeer spent seven weeks in the Himalayas - first, to lead a team in the Everest region through her women-focused high altitude expedition business AWExpeditions, and second, to complete a new line on the east side of rarely climbed 20,889 ft Kusum Kangru. 

With a full day to kill in Cusco, Peru before flying back to the U.S., Alpaca Expeditions set up a hike for me to the top of Mount Winikunka in the Rainbow Mountains.

The what?

After a quick Google search, I knew I had to see this unique mountain range.