Known to the locals as Sagarmatha or, “goddess of the sky,” it rises out of the heart of the Himalayan Mountain range to a height of 29,035 ft., forming the world’s tallest mountain. Last October Julie Pludow, a counselor for the hearing impaired at Mesa, trekked up to and stood at the base of one nature’s most outstanding creations, Mt. Everest.

Reaching the summit of Everest may stand as the ultimate accomplishment for any climber, but few have had the experience. 2,228 climbers have reached the top since the first successful summit in 1953. 163 climbers have died making the attempt. For Pludow, a 14-day trek to the base camp was enough.

“If I were going to go to the top I would have had to train a lot differently,” said Pludow. “I wasn’t training to work in snow, I wasn’t prepared for that. I’ve gotten up to 20,000 ft and it’s really hard and cold. I guess I don’t like being that uncomfortable and working that hard.”

Pludow is far from inexperienced when it comes to trekking and climbing mountains. Her climbing achievements include not only the highest mountain in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,340 ft.), but also the 2nd highest in Africa, Mt. Kenya (17,058 ft.).

She’s climbed Mt. Rainier (14,410 ft.), the 4th largest mountain in the United States, as well as Mt. Shasta (14,179 ft.) in California. Pludow also made it to 19,000 ft. and was a day away from the summit of Mt. Aconcagua (22,840 ft.), the highest mountain in the Americas.

Pludow and a group of friends started their trip with a flight into Katmandu, Nepal, then another short flight into Lukla, where the 50-mile hike through the Himalayas began at 9000 ft. Local guides led the expedition through small villages of Nepal and yaks traveled with the group, carrying most of the gear.

Health becomes a major concern when trekking at elevations as high as the Himalayas, which have more mountains over 5,000 ft. than any other mountain range in the world.

Careful climbers will hike a little further on the trail past their camp to a higher elevation, then come back down and rest at camp for a day or two, helping their bodies to acclimatize and avoid altitude sickness.

“For me it was pretty nice and relaxing, but it wasn’t for everyone,” said Pludow. “It’s not a good thing to do if you don’t have experience in mountaineering. This is something you kind of have to work up to.”

For Pludow, the cultural experience was as thrilling as the scenery intake. Prayer flags, religious symbols and rock carvings line the paths leading through the mountains.

The Mesa counselor also took advantage of an opportunity to attend a Buddhist ceremony at one of the many temples that are scattered about the region. Throughout the trip she had more than a few opportunities to interact with the local Sherpas, the largest ethnic group of the region.

“It’s a very spiritual place,” said Pludow. “Even though it’s a Hindu region with the Indian side and Buddhism from the Sherpa side, there’s like over 240 different ethnic groups with many different languages and many different variations on kinds of religion, and they are just calmer than we are. They are so tolerant of each other, and they welcome tourists a lot.”

The final leg of the trek ultimately led the hikers to the Kala Patta ridge at 18,000 ft., which offers the closest and most clear view of Everest and the surrounding area.

From there, Pludow and some fellow climbers decided take an extra day’s walk down to the Everest base camp, at 17,500 ft. Since the best season for climbing Everest is in Spring and they visited in the Fall, Pludow’s group found the base camp nearly empty, but decided to stay for a night before the long walk back to the beginning.

“I wasn’t really that excited about going to the base camp because I usually go to base camps if I’m going to climb the mountain, I thought it was stupid to go just to say you’ve been to the base camp but I was really glad I went,” said Pludow. “It was really clear, there’s rocks all around and the glaciers and you can see camp one and it was just gorgeous. Once you come down you can really look around and it’s just beautiful there.”

Pludow is busy planning her next adventure, which is a hike around Europe with her family sometime later this year. But she is already talking about heading for another trip around the Himalayas.

Next time she wants to take a different trail and explore some more of the mountain region. For Pludow, the Everest trek was like nothing that could be put into words, all she wants is more of that feeling.

“Thinking about the trip, it makes me feel like crying because I’m so happy to be alive,” said Pludow. “It makes me kind of know my place. Traveling is just good for my balance because I get so wound up in this other culture, I lose my perspective some times for what I think life’s about and what I want for my life, so it helps me slow down and get centered.”