East Alum Maxwell Braasch Climbs Mount Everest

As the clouds dispersed and unveiled a picture-perfect view of Mount Everest’s peak, 24-year-old East Alum Maxwell Braasch stopped breathless at 17,500 feet high. Not because of the hours he had just spent trekking or the 40 lbs on his back, but because he was staring at what he traded seven month’s worth of concerts, bar nights and uber rides for. For 20 minutes, he and his friend stood in silence.

“There’s a lot of world, you can read about it, look at pictures, but it’s nothing like being there,” Braasch said.

While hiking in the South of Chile last winter, Braasch ran into hikers from Germany who had just returned from Everest. The long haired outdoorsmen raved about the trek, and as soon as Braasch returned to the states he had made his decision to give up the next seven months to strict budgeting and training. 

First he researched itineraries. Could he budget two weeks in Nepal as a full time medical student? Trekking trips are cheap — being outdoors all day negates the need for hotels, restaurants and sight-seeing. But he would have to double his medical chart review load each day and get ahead on research, adding an entire day’s work every three days and trying not to let his mind drift from his responsibilities. When attendings ask Braasch about his travels in the OR, Braasch feels his face light up behind his surgical mask.

Braasch slowly started budgeting for Nepal — which meant no Lumineers or Coldplay concerts. No more impulsive Amazon purchases or unnecessary dining out. When he could buy an Uber to Westport, he walks the 20 minutes instead. 

Braasch runs 40-to-50 miles a week, and to train he packs 40 or 50 pounds of bricks in a backpack to hike outdoor trails for five hours. It’s nothing like ascending Everest, he says, but it’s an efficient way to get used to carrying the weight on his back for that much time.

Even after all his preparation, there was a moment on the plane when Braasch hesitated. With too much time to think, he couldn’t help but feel intimidated. Pumas, tigers, avalanches, rockslides, monsoons — he had heard all of the Everest horror stories. He remembers reading how common it is for the mountain to shift just the tiniest bit, and an avalanche could wipe him and his whole group out. But by the time the plane touched down on the most dangerous airstrip in the world, his fear had dissipated.

Imagining the sights encouraged him. He envisioned the pictures he’ll be able to capture and add to his Flickr album. Since he spent a summer researching an HIV project in South Africa, one of his biggest incentives for traveling has been his photography. His parents bought him a real camera — a Nikon d3400 — so he could capture photos that were better than iPhone quality. Now he has albums packed with photos of his trips to Panama, Haiti, South Africa and Nepal.

After two days of traveling without a shower, Braasch was invited by another solo traveler to a rooftop bar upon arrival. Within twenty minutes he was drinking beer with strangers and eating dinner off of someone else’s plate until 2 am, admiring the Nepalese town. The next day he departed for Everest with his new friends: two from the Netherlands, two from England, one from the Canary Islands, one from Egypt and two from India. 

“A lot of people are traveling alone, but you’re not really alone,” Braasch said.

He knows this is the time in his life when he has the most opportunity. Once his five to eight year long residency begins, he’ll have too much responsibility — everyone tells him now is the time to explore the world. 

“It’s a really big world and you can’t see it from Kansas,” Braasch said. “It’s a great place to live, but there’s no one place that someone should live their entire life.”