Two Sides of Everest

Two Sides of Everest

Calgary Explorers’ Club Presentation by Ekke Kok

 

Ekke Kok and his wife, Audrey, travelled the world by motorcycle.  By 2020 they had travelled to more than 80 countries, ticking items off their bucket list such as riding their motorcycles to the Great Wall of China, visiting Antarctica, and climbing Kilimanjaro.  In July of 2020, just a year before their planned retirement date, the unthinkable happened.  Audrey was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive brain cancer, and she passed away in November.  Before she passed away, she wrote a letter that said, “Ekke, your job is to travel out on your motorbike.  What else?”  So, Ekke has continued travelling and collecting memories, including his first solo adventure; riding to the end of the road in Panama and riding through the Middle East from Oman to Germany.  One bucket list item they weren’t able achieve before Audrey passed away was to trek to Everest Base Camp, so when the opportunity came up for Ekke to join a trek organised by Spirit West he jumped at the chance.  Shortly before departure to Kathmandu another opportunity came up.  To ride a Royal Enfield motorcycle from Kathmandu, Nepal to Lhasa, Tibet via Everest Base Camp on the Tibetan side.  This is the story of visiting the two sides of Mt. Everest.