Are a PM's Boots Made for Walking the Himalayas?

Carleton Chinner is the Managing Director of MagniStrat, a Brisbane, Australia-based project consultancy specializing in program capability maturity improvement. Carleton works on large complex projects and is often called upon to speak about his experiences.

  Agile   Career Development   Lessons Learned   Risk Management  

Late one night after an extended dinner, one of my friends—in a moment of inspiration—said, “We should see Mount Everest.” Being an intrepid group of friends, this led to another hour of conversation that culminated in an agreement to meet in Kathmandu one year from the dinner.

We went back to our hometowns on opposite ends of Australia with nothing more than a vague agreement that we would each find our own way to Kathmandu to have dinner again.

As a project manager, I like to have my scope as clearly defined as I can before I begin. A flurry of emails followed to shape up the journey. Over the next few weeks, a plan emerged to meet in Kathmandu, fly to Lukla, and walk up to Everest Base Camp. We also agreed on baseline quality principles: We would spend as little as possible; be self-sufficient; and be physically and mentally ready for the challenges of walking at high altitude.

Planning for Success
Everest Base Camp is an easily accessible adventure location if you have plenty of money. There is no shortage of tour operators who will plan everything for you including, travel, meals, accommodation and porters to carry your equipment. Two of our friends opted out of the more adventurous option and booked with one of these tour operators.

Walking at high altitude is physically demanding because gaining altitude usually means climbing upward.…

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