How We Show Up π
Hello friends,
Narayan Baniya is missing. We've been waiting for news since August 26, and by now we know what that waiting means. The rituals have been completed, his family and friends have been asking for help, and Bishnu Thapa, who was both his best friend and his employer at Himalayan Recreation, has been coordinating support. We're moving forward knowing what we know in our hearts while respecting what his family has chosen not to say aloud.
Narayan was a guide with Himalayan Recreation, my business partner in Nepal. He guided trekkers to Everest Base Camp, to Annapurna, to Langtang and to many other stunning locations. He knew the mountains and the routes, and knew how to move people safely through difficult terrain. He was reliable and warm and genuinely good at what he did. Beyond that, he was a father, a husband, a son, a man with a life that mattered beyond any trek.
The August 26 flood took him along with hundreds of others. It took infrastructure, homes, bridges and tea houses. It fundamentally changed what safety means for mountain communities that depend on stability to survive.
This month's newsletter is about what happens when things break and what we do next. It's about how we show up, and what Narayan's loss means as we figure that out.
β Sharon βοΈ
π₯Ύ ADVENTURE CORNER
Stories and tips from the trail to inspire your own journeys.
ποΈ Fear Doesn't Disqualify You:
What the Richmond Ranges Taught Me About Asking for Help
Day 80 on Te Araroa. Eighty days without a rest day, pushing through foot injuries, running a business remotely, creating content, managing comments and brand partnerships while walking the length of Aotearoa.
By the time we reached the Richmond Range ridgeline, the cumulative weight of all of it β the pain, the constant notifications, the obligation to perform the trek while performing everything else β caught up with me on that ridgeline.
Not because I couldn't finish the walk. I was 100% determined to complete it. But something had to give, and on that ridgeline it became clear that something was me. Andrew turned back with me despite having the best weather and opportunity to succeed.
A woman named Leah, who had messaged weeks earlier saying she'd support us if we needed it, drove to the trailhead with fresh salad and Christmas cake. She didn't hesitate. She just showed up. That's when everything shifted β not because I suddenly felt better, but because I understood that asking for help wasn't giving up. It was the only thing that made sense.
This is about what you learn on Day 80 when you stop pushing and start listening to what your body and mind are actually telling you. It's also the story of what happens when someone shows up for you without being asked twice.
πΏ Why Nepal Resilience Matters:
Understanding the Bhote Koshi Disaster
On the morning of August 26, 2026, a glacial collapse near the Nepal-China border triggered a catastrophic flash flood down the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems.
High in the mountains at approximately 5,200 metres on the Langtang Himal, the bedrock underneath a glacier failed. The glacier detached from the mountainside β a section roughly 600 metres wide. Nearly 1,200 metres of ice and rock plummeted into the valley below, entering the Lhende Khola and then racing into the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems at catastrophic speed. The Trishuli River rose by as much as 9 metres in approximately 30 minutes in some areas, with a wall of water, ice, rock, sediment and debris sweeping everything downstream.
The settlements of Timure, Syapru Besi, and Trishuli Bazaar were in the path. Hundreds are confirmed dead. Thousands remain missing, including Narayan Baniya.
This is the story of what happened, why it matters, and what resilience actually costs when repeated disaster is the cost of staying alive. It's the story of the guides and porters who make trekking in Nepal possible, and why understanding their reality matters.
π SUPPORTING NARAYANβS FAMILY
π Supporting Narayan's Family
Narayan's daughter's education matters, His family's stability matters, his memory matters.
I've set up a Give a Little fundraiser to support his family through this crisis and beyond. Bishnu and my friends in Nepal have been instrumental in making sure this reaches the right people and that the support flows directly to Narayan's family. Andrew and I will be personally paying our respects when we visit Nepal in October.
This is direct support for people you may have met on the trail, or who made the trek possible for someone you know.
π± Until Next Month
October is coming and my groups are heading to Everest and Annapurna Base Camps as scheduled. The Khumbu and the Annapurna regions are unaffected by the August 26 disaster, and the guides and porters who will lead these treks are safe.
But Nepal itself is grieving, and the guides and porters you'll meet on the trail are thinking about their country right now. They're thinking about Narayan and the communities that were devastated. They're dealing with all of that while preparing to welcome you to the mountains with the same warmth and expertise they always do.
That's how they show up, with grace and strength and resilience that shouldn't have to be tested this many times. If you're trekking with me in October and November, know that your guide is carrying more than usual right now. Treat them with the respect they deserve, pay them well, listen to their stories, and remember their names.
And if you've trekked in Nepal before and have a guide whose name you remember, reach out and check in and ask how they're doing. That matters more than you know.
β Sharon βοΈ
π¬ Catch up on past newsletters below
Narayan Baniya is missing. The August 26 glacial collapse in Nepal triggered catastrophic flooding that took hundreds of lives, including guides and porters who make trekking possible.
This newsletter is about what happens when things break, how we show up, and why asking for help matters. It features the Te Araroa story of stepping back on day 80, the context of Nepal's vulnerability, and how to support Narayan's family.
Narayan was a guide with Himalayan Recreation, reliable and warm and genuinely good at what he did. He was also a father, a husband, a son. The rituals have been completed. His family and friends are asking for support.
October treks to EBC and ABC are proceeding as scheduled, but the guides carrying your load are thinking about their country right now, and they deserve to be remembered and supported as real people with real lives beyond the trek.