A month ago I finished up my time volunteering on the Lost Mountain Project in Mozambique and Malawi. My time in Africa was a compilation of intense, non-stop, awe-inspiring experiences; difficult to appreciate all of it while it was happening. I was there as a volunteer, and an ambassador for Positive Tracks–a national, youth-centric nonprofit that helps young people get … Read More
Big Wall Science
In a former life I was a full-time climbing guide. That means I would normally know better than to introduce people to climbing for the first time on vegetated granite slabs interspersed with dirt and bush-choked chimneys.
Ready, Set, Go: The Lost Mountain Takes Off
A blog in conjunction with our amazing sponsor Osprey Packs. Four days from today, I meet my international team of scientists, conservation workers, climbers, filmmakers, students, and volunteers at the airport in Blantyre, Malawi. We’re heading to Mozambique; we’re heading to the Lost Mountain. All totaled, 19 people varying in age from 19 to 55, from Brazilians to South Africans, … Read More
Adventure When and Where it Matters
By Majka Burhardt and Sarah Garlick A month ago we left Mozambique and Malawi. Less than a year from now we will be back. How much time does it take to gain perspective? Our goal for this initial trip was simple: to learn if an expedition pairing science, climbing, adventure, and conservation would be possible on Mozambique’s Mt. Namuli. Here is … Read More
Notes from The Mozambican Bush
By Majka Burhardt and Sarah Garlick DAY 1 MB: I say goodbye to Ethiopia (intentionally), and to my new ultralight Thermarest (unintentionally). My first-ever spotting of the Congo appears initially out of a plane window, and soon through a propped-open plane door during a re-supply. Malawi and Mozambique bound. SG: It’s 5:30 a.m. at Boston’s Logan Airport. I have a … Read More
The Lost Mountain: A Reconnaissance Expedition to Northern Mozambique
When non-climbers ask why I climb, I often give them what I think of as my Zen answer, essentially that climbing is way to experience perfect alignment of body, mind, and nature. It sounds totally flakey, I know. But it’s also true. But another truth about why I climb has less to do with actual climbing and more to do … Read More