Elia Saikaly

At a time filled with New Year's resolutions, the pressure is on to be the best we can be. To achieve all that we dream. Whether losing a few pounds, getting that new job, training for that marathon or even climbing that mountain. Here are a few questions to ask...

"Don't you hate seeing posts on Facebook of that guy posting all of his vacation pictures online? Like, how annoying? Is it because secretly you're wishing that it was you?"

Those were the words that came through my car's FM radio last week. It was an ad for a...

It's 1:00 a.m. and we still haven't left camp for the summit. The wind is violently shaking our little North Face tent at 7,100 metres above sea level. What happened to our perfect weather forecast? I'm currently breathing supplementary oxygen and I'm finding it challenging to see through the mask....

The truth is that I've been sick ever since Kheiry left. After evacuating him from ABC (5,700 meters) I had to climb back through a storm, got lost in the middle of the night in snow up to my waist, nearly lost all sensation in my left foot and never...

Today I bore witness to a truly incredible sight: love in its most formidable and unconditional state. A fundamental response to survival that left me astounded and quite honestly purely dumbfounded. On one level, I felt extremely guilty for having captured this on video, yet in the same breath I...

It's been nearly 30 days since I left the comfort of my home in Ottawa. The plan was to trek through the Himalayas, climb a 6000M mountain in Nepal called Mt. Lobuche all in preparation for the ascent of the sixth highest mountain on Earth, Mt Cho Oyu in Tibet.

As I watched the jeep drive away with my climbing partner Kheiry, Jeremie, Pema and Namgyal, it suddenly hit me: I was mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted. The truth is this: While Kheiry was sick, I put myself second and failed to share the fact that I wasn't well and...

"It's over," I though to myself, and it hasn't even begun. The dream: The ascent of Mount Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world is crushed. I have watched my friend and climbing partner Kheiry suffer for far too long...

It's that time of year again when uncertainty takes precedence over all that is routine, familiar and predictable. No matter how many times one embarks on a high altitude Himalayan expedition, the feeling of excitement and uneasiness never ceases to be anything less than overwhelming.

Am I strong enough?...

"In that moment, amongst the serenity of the high Himalaya, the crackle of a radio could be heard through the breast pocket of my down suit. I had completely lost myself in the moment at 8,800 metres above sea level , 50 metres from the highest point on Earth also...