The first time I backpacked solo across Europe, I had a rail pass, a backpack that was way too heavy, and a list of cities I felt like I “had to” see. Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Prague. I checked them off one by one, and I don’t regret a single stop. But somewhere around week three,…
I still remember standing on a dock in Europe years ago, backpack on my shoulders, watching a group of paddlers glide out across still water and thinking, that looks incredible, and also, terrifying. I didn’t grow up on boats. I grew up in New York, guiding sightseeing tours through crowded streets, not gliding across open…
I still remember standing at the base of my first real outdoor route, staring up at rock instead of a colored plastic hold, and feeling my hands go clammy in a way no indoor gym session had ever made them do. That moment sticks with me because it’s such a universal one. Almost every climber…
The first time someone told me I should try white-water rafting, I laughed and changed the subject. It sounded like something for people far braver and fitter than me. I was the girl who spent years staring at a spreadsheet, counting my vacation days, convinced that the big adventures belonged to other people. So I…
The first time most people picture the Alps, they picture a crowd. A cable car packed shoulder to shoulder, a viewing platform bristling with selfie sticks, a village square where every third shop sells the same fridge magnet. And here’s the honest thing nobody tells you: that version of the Alps is real, but it’s…
For years I believed skiing was something other people did. Wealthier people. People with a chalet friend, a rich uncle, or a job that handed out three weeks of vacation. When I was guiding sightseers around New York City, I’d hear tourists talk about their Alps holidays the way I talked about winning the lottery,…
Let me tell you something I wish someone had told me years ago, back when I was stuck at a desk in New York, staring at a spreadsheet and dreaming about mountains I was sure I’d never be “fit enough” or “brave enough” to walk. You don’t have to be an athlete to walk one…
When I was stuck in that grey office in New York, staring at the clock and dreaming of wide-open spaces, I thought “safari” could only mean one thing. I pictured the plains of Africa, big cameras, and endless heat. I thought if I wanted to see wild animals in their natural home, I had to…
I remember the exact moment I realized I needed a change. I was sitting at a desk in New York City, staring at a spreadsheet, and the fluorescent lights were giving me a headache. I kept daydreaming about water. Not the busy, loud kind at the beach, but the quiet, still kind. I wanted to…