THUNDER BAY — Mayor Ken Boshcoff is confident his long history of knee surgeries won't prevent him from getting onto the highest mountain in the world.
The veteran politician, 73, left Thunder Bay on Monday for Kathmandu, Nepal, where he'll join a group of eight long-time friends for a guided trek to Mount Everest.
He said the Himalayas have been on his bucket list for decades, but his plans to travel there three-and-a-half years ago were derailed by the outbreak of the pandemic.
Boshcoff has been to numerous other exotic sites over the years, including Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands and the headwaters of the Amazon River.
"The world's an intriguing place, and it's getting a little smaller. Some parts of the planet you can't even go to anymore, but this is still a safe place to go to."
The group will be under the watchful eye of a mutual friend from British Columbia who's guided hikes all over the globe, but they will be led onto the mountain by a Nepalese specialist.
"Kathmandu is the departure point, and then it goes to base camp, then levels 1,2,3,4, and 5 which is ascending the summit. We won't even get close to that. So probably level 1.5, something like that."
The mayor said he's heard that thinner air at higher altitudes can pose a challenge even for people who have trained for it, but he's not expecting to go high enough on the mountain to require extra oxygen.
"It's at a pace that for someone who's had 13 knee operations, I can still do this."
Boshcoff expects to be away for close to three weeks, but said "I haven't had a break in awhile, so I'm feeling OK about it."
