Extreme Treks

Ryan arrives in Lhasa to acclimatize and make his final preparations for the challenging adventure to Mount Kailash. Ryan is nervous, and he should be, the altitudes are high and the weather is un-predictable. Every year, thousands make the pilgrimage to Kailash, following a tradition going back more than a millennium. When the weather turns against those on the mountain, people die. Pilgrims of several religions believe that circumambulating Mount Kailash, at 6,638 meters (21,778 ft.) on foot is a holy ritual that will bring good fortune, and that the benefits are worth the risk. Ryan will be traveling with the Hindus and Buddhists making his circumambulation in a clockwise direction.

Ryan makes the long journey from Shanghai to western Sichuan in summer, in the middle of the summer monsoon season, to attempt the epic trek to the monastery at the base of the Sacred Mountain Minya Konka, also known as Mount Gongga. Minya Konka is the highest mountain in Sichuan province, China; the local Tibetan people also know the mountain as "The King of Sichuan Mountains". Minya Konka is the easternmost 7,000 meters (23,000 ft.) peak in the world and the third highest peak outside of the Himalaya range. The journey will be one of the longest and toughest multi-day treks, and watch out for heavy rains.

Ryan heads north and leaves the mountains behind as he travels deep in to the high altitude grass-lands of China’s northern Qinghai province. His mission is to circumnavigate the enormous Amne Machin Mountain, once misrepresented as the tallest mountain in the world by early explorers. The entire Amne Machin range is an eastern extension of the Kunlun Mountains, a major mountain system of Asia. The Amne Machin Peak has an elevation estimated at 6,282 meters (20,610 ft.). The journey will take Ryan hundreds of kilometres up and over rolling grasslands at nosebleed altitudes in some of the most hostile elements faced on this journey. Over one hundred years ago it was common to see thousands of pilgrims making the holy pilgrimage around this mountain, but these days only a trickle of visitors can be found. This will be one of the most isolating and lonely experiences of this expedition.

Ryan travels to Glacier National Park to snowshoe his way across the desolate peaks and stunning horizons in the depths of winter in Montana.

Ryan journeys deep into the 105,000-square-mile Taklamakan Desert, where endless waves of sand stretch far in to the horizon in every direction.

The trek over Mount Salkantay connects the city of Mollepata with Machu Picchu and consists of an ancient and remote footpath where massive snowcapped mountains collide with lush tropical rainforests.