Canadians Portage Canoes to Everest Basecamp

Two Canadians have portaged two canoes to Mount Everest basecamp after an 18-day hike. Brothers Kyle Roberts and Tom Schellenberg each carried a canoe on their backs, meant to represent the extra burden of people living with mental health issues.

Their trek started winding through small villages in the foothills of the Himalaya to a trail that led them to one of the most famous mountain areas ever.

The brothers, who are both personally affected by mental illness, chronicled their trek online. The goal: to raise money for a women’s mental health facility in Kathmandu, Nepal.

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Standing in front of the tallest mountain in the world. . Portaging canoes to Mount Everest Base Camp in support of mental health has been a project Kyle and Tom have worked towards for 2 solid years. . This is about mental health awareness on a GLOBAL level. It is ALWAYS ok to not be ok. It is ALWAYS ok to talk about your mental health. . Help us reach the goal of raising $150 000 to build the KOSHISH Women’s Mental Health Centre in Kathmandu, Nepal. . Thank you so much to everyone who donated during our 48 hour donation challenge! WE DID IT! We reached $10 000 dollars in 48 hours. We are now half way there so let’s keep pushing to raise the last $75 000 !! . ? by the sublime @setonroberts

A post shared by The Weight We Carry (@the_weight_we_carry) on Jan 22, 2019 at 5:26am PST

“The fact that we have that support, I just really feel that we need to be able to try to help those who don’t,” Schellenberg told CTV Kitchener via a video call from Everest.

Both portagers carried at least 80 pounds on their backs, including food and sleeping bags. They started their trek farther from the traditional starting point because of the canoes.

“We were all just bawling our eyes out. It was very, very emotional,” Schellenberg said. They will now portage the canoes back down to where they started for a complete trip of 200 kilometres.

To donate visit here: “When you support The Weight We Carry your contribution goes directly to supporting mental health organisations around the world. Our first project aims to support KOSHISH in building The Women’s Mental Health Transit Centre in Kathmandu, Nepal.