2024 High Altitude and Wilderness Rescue Training

My name is Camila Alejandra Wilson Avila, and I am attempting to summit all 14 Peaks above 8000m. Not only am I attempting to summit all of the world's Eight-Thousanders, I am attempting to do it in consecutive order and to be the first Guatemalan-American woman to do so. The goal of this fundraiser is to raise the money for me and my training partner to train with the world's best expedition and wilderness rescue groups, and to collect enough money to begin purchasing the necessary gear and permits to begin our attempt at the world's 14 tallest mountains, and the basic equipment necessary to document it. As we begin the first of the 14 peaks, we hope to gain momentum in our fundraising goal and use the public platform to push us to the end of our summits, and with the publicity that it generates, use this for initiatives that will promote green peace and preventative awareness around the world.

Ever since I was a child, I have had the dream to change the world, and summitting Mt. Everest was synonymous with that. I remember seeing the poster in my second-grade class of the mountain, with the title "Mt. Everest: The World's Tallest Mountain (8848m)", and I would sit on the rainbow carpet of our class and dream of summiting this marvel of the world. I thought anything was possible at that time. Because of this courage and confidence that I had in myself, I would save my friend's life in middle school during a pool party and be inspired to grow up and go into rescue and survival training.

At 26 years old, I decided nothing would hold me back, even my own hesitations, and I began trekking and training in various gyms specifically to gain skills for climbing and trekking.

All of my life I have been training for this moment, from hours in the pool to hours on the mat training for jiu-jitsu competitions. Martial arts and yoga are now my life, and by this, I am now training to be a high-altitude climber. This year, 2024, I am training to climb at High Altitudes and provide rescue services on the mountain trails. I want to take this moment to share my deepest condolences to the families of American climbers Anna Gutu and Gina Marie. My goal is to climb the 14 Peaks above 8000m in an effort to advocate for safe preparation and peace in the world's troubling conflicts. I believe that no matter who you are, if you believe in yourself, and you stand for what you believe in, and are willing to believe in it, then you can do anything. This is an underdog story, and here's how it goes:

My parents were not climbers; however, I would always share with them my thoughts, my goals, and my dreams. Then, one day, my dad brought home a book called "Peak." It was about a boy named Peak who was attempting to break the world record of summiting Mt. Everest as the youngest climber in history. The story is loosely based on Jordan Romero, and I remember feeling slightly discouraged, but mostly inspired, and a yearning burned in me. I felt like, with the background I had, unless I dedicated myself to a career for 20 years, I would never have enough money in order to obtain the permits, hire the right team, or purchase the necessary gear, equipment, and training. Three years ago, that changed. I was in college, and my best friend had just passed away. I realized that the life I was living didn't make me happy. I almost gave up on my dream, and I saw the years stretch out ahead of me.

If not for the trips I took with my family and friends to the rock wall, I feel I would have underestimated myself as a climber, but the fact of the matter was that I loved climbing. I had chosen to dive into spiritual studies. I dedicated myself to a yogic lifestyle, and it became my forefront. I began to let go of my dream of climbing and decided I wanted to pursue yoga and mixed martial arts. I earned my purple belt and learned the ashtanga primary series, and then, I found another book. It was a guide for being a climber. I read the first chapter. It involved dieting and conditioning, and that was all I needed to know. I wanted to learn, and I was going to do it with personal experience. The following year, for my yearly fundraising project, I decided to work with the natural disaster response organization known as All Hands and Hearts. I was sponsored by the National Sponsorship Program to work in flood zones in the Northeast and Southeast regions of the U.S. I had seen their program in Nepal, and the burning desire from childhood to go to the country of the Himalayas arose again; however, asking for money seemed something I didn't deserve if I was going to be the one enjoying it. Then, as I shared my life story with a few people in the Florida program, one volunteer actually offered to donate the money to my foundation in order for me to go to the school building program, on his behalf. However, he told me that with the cost of the ticket, it would be worth staying for over a month, so I decided to book my first trip to Nepal for 4 months, with a round-way ticket, and when I met my friend in Miami just before my flight, after the Vermont flood program, he trained with me and encouraged me to join the Miami rock gym. Just before that, I had been trekking and training as a guide in Guatemala, my mother's home country. I began strengthening my upper body in ways I only dreamed of, and I decided not to give up. Experiencing high-altitude became a passion of mine, coupled with my passion for the developing progress in Guatemala. I went to Nepal, completed the program, and immediately began trekking. I did two treks in the Langtang National Forest, Gosykunda and Suryakunda, and began focusing on my health, supplementing vitamins, and training calisthenics the way I had trained for a year with Kevin Smith from Casa de Yoga in Xela Quetzaltenango. I met a group of people who believed in me, and I began sharing my story around Kathmandu, from Thamel to the Hotel Bahari, and I was met with a lot of encouragement. I started hitting the ground and doing push-ups and abdominal work, as well as breath work and asanas from the ashtanga primary series. I was rock-wall climbing weekly in Kathmandu, and that is how I met Musa Masala and Wonggchu Peak, and was inspired to start a climbing program in Guatemala for the youth similar to this amazing program. I joined the champion climbers of Wongchhu Peak and Musa Masala and went climbing with their group at Hattiban days before returning to Guatemala to finalize my dual citizenship and begin my altitude and rescue training in Guatemala.

This is what I am asking of you, my friends: please support my dream of summiting all 14 peaks as a certified mountain rescuer.

2024 High-Altitude and Wilderness Rescue Training will be in the next 3 seasons in which we will be summiting peaks above 3000m-6000m.

Winter 2023 - Gosykunda Trek (4380m) - Langtang National Forest - Nepal (completed)

Winter 2024Suryakunda Trek (4610m) - Langtang National Forest - Nepal (completed)

Spring 2024 - Calysthetics, Rock Climbing (KTM Sports Club and Hattiban Wall with Musa Masala and Wongchhu Peak), and Yoga (1400m) - Nepal (completed)

High Intensity Interval Training with Kevin Smith, Yoga with Casa de Yoga, and & Mixed Martial Arts with G-Team Xela (2330m) - Quetzaltenango, Guatemala (currently in-training)

Cerro Quemado (3197m) - Almolonga, Guatemala (completed)

Volcan Pacaya (2552m) - Guatemala

Volcan Santa Maria (3772m) - Guatemala

Acatenango (3976m) - Guatemala

Tejamulco (4992m) - Guatemala

Summer 2024 - RED MED Rescue, Expedition, and Disaster Medicine Course - Guatemala (3000m)

Mount Kilimanjaro (5895m) - Kilimanjaro National Park - Tanzania [independent expedition]

Mount Kilimanjaro (5895m) - Kilimanjaro National Park - Tanzania [Elite Exped Training Expedition]

Yala Peak (5500m) - Langtang National Forest - Nepal

Tserko Ri (5033m) - Langtang National Forest - Nepal 

Kyanjin Gompa (4773m) - Langtang National Forest - Nepal

Fall 2024- Mt Kailash - Kangrinboqe Peak (6638m) - Tibetan Autonomous Region - China

MT. Lobuche (6119m) and Everest Base Camp (5364m) - RED MED Courses - Nepal

Everyone, here is what I am excited about. I will be starting a few fundraising pages, in order to raise the money to train with the world's leaders in High Altitude Expeditions and Wilderness-Mountain Rescue, and begin to obtain the permits and gear necessary to begin the first 8000m climbs with my team's support. 

Chris Gibson's RED MED and Nirmal Purja's Elite Exped Group will be offering two training courses this year that I hope to raise the money to participate in. I want to prov, that even the underdog can come out on top.

RED MED Education will be hosting a climb in Guatemala that will include Mountain and Wilderness Rescue Training at 2000-3000m. 

RED MED Education will also be hosting a course that will include a trek to Everest Base Camp (5364m) and a MT Lobuche Climb (6119m), as well as the Rescue, Expedition and Disaster Medicine Course, and as I was a national disaster response volunteer for All Hands and Hearts for EarthThread International's 2023 yearly project, I hope to take this one step further and raise the money to recieve the proper training for real-time emergency response, to support future initiatives in Guatemala, Nepal, and around the world.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. Be the change you wish to see, that is the dream for the 2020's!

Little-by-little, step-by-step, we are the generation that is walking the talk! 

Love, Camila Alejandra Wilson Avila