Thirteen-year-old Elsie Evans is unstoppable. The Greenwood Village teen just got back from the adventure of a lifetime:
“I just trekked to Everest Base Camp in Nepal with my dad, and we've been training since May,” she told Denver7.
Elsie and her dad, Chris, just returned to Colorado this weekend after spending nearly a month hiking the Himalayas, including Mount Everest.
Elsie was easily one of the youngest hikers by far on the expedition.
“Coming back here, the mountains seem just like little hills compared to the Himalayas,” she laughed.
They might seem small now, but Elsie told Denver7 she learned the skills she needed as she and her dad trained every weekend on a different Colorado 14er.
Mount Bierstadt, she recalled, was most comparable to the challenges of the Himalayas.
“It was probably one of the most challenging hikes I did in my training, so that was really helpful to just, like, push myself to the limits,” she said.
It was not just physical challenges, either—it’s where she developed the grit and mental fortitude to get through the toughest moments on their journey, especially when her legs ached and the altitude started getting to her.
“I had no belief inside of me, but like seeing that, I've overtaken some adults, and I've pushed through. I had a headache, but I've still done it, and I've done this multiple days. It just gave me a lot of confidence and belief in myself, which I'm sure was able to make me get there,” she said.