A great read!

 Matt Fioretti has been a high altitude mountain guide and climber in the Himalaya for 25 years. He has spent 44 seasons in altitude. At age forty, when he was at the peak of his climbing career, he suffered with life threatening Aplastic Anemia for 4 years before ultimately receiving a bone marrow transplant. Matt's unique perspective on survival, and the power of the mind body connection, grew from his epic medical journey and his high and wild journeys into the remote Himalaya of Nepal and Tibet. Ironically his hardest climb was not in the high, cold, thin air of the Himalaya.  

REVIEWS:  

"I highly recommend this book as a gift for someone you love (including yourself). It’s highly inspirational and will take you through the full range of emotions. The writing and photography are fantastic. This book is a testament to the strength of the human spirit! Matthew Fioretti you are a hero, and this book will undoubtedly lend strength to anyone going through a challenging time!" Melissa Walker

"I just finished this book written by my friend Matthew Fioretti. It arrived a few days ago and I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended! Nice work Matt, thank you for sharing your journey!" "Tracy Mcfadden

"Where to begin...I just finished Between the Summit and the Grave.  

Your story, your writing, the conveyance of your experience and feelings is nothing short of literary perfection. Yes, while I know this is a final draft w/edits coming, my point is - the story and how you chose to write it, is PERFECT. 

I was BLOWN away - gutted -  beyond my imagination of the extent of your physical suffering.  And, you made me laugh out loud!!!

Your day-after-day-after-day (x years) endurance is daunting and wildiy inspiring. 

Your proximity to death and crossing over into it - repeatedly - PROFOUND. 

The intensity of your suffering and your tenacity to always extinguish your fears - no matter how dark and in the depths of despair you were, to access the light (gratitude - love - joy) is inspirational on steroids. 

Your survival story is heroic - epically poignant.

Between the Summit and the Grave is my #1 favorite memoir! I want to buy many, many, many copies and give them as gifts of Healing to everyone I love, or even like. 

You are a miracle. Your writing is loaded with vivid extremes of joy and suffering. I love that mindfulness (Faith, The Great Spirit, Guides, Angels, You-G-d!) is the name of your journey's game, whether your ADVENTURE is in the Himalaya or the Hospital. 

I am in AWE"

Andrea Wennet 

Logistics

 "It is way physically harder than climbing Mt Everest". This was what I was told by a colleague who finished most of the upper crossing and had summited Everest. This is my 44th season in the Himalaya and the first time I felt a tinge of doubt on a project. Can I and my team do this? What Im finding as I sit in my hotel room looking over my gear and food for the next 120 days, is that the logistics are outlandishly challenging. There is gear strewn from one side of the 30 foot room the the other. If I look at just one aspect of logistics, such as resupplies my mind whirls with questions. We will have 9 food drops for 5 people. It is looking like we will have 45, 90 liter duffle bags flown to trail heads. 45!!! My mind moves to stress, I jot things on my list adding to the 43 reminders of things to do. This is just one logistic of hundreds we have been working through. The physical aspect seem trifle compared to the logistical web I seem to be tangled in. Now it is 5am in Kathmandu and the smell of incense wafts through my open window. A monkey screeches in the distance, and pigeons coo. I can imagine that the monastery is bustling with saffron robed monks beginning their morning meditation and prayer. This thought settles my mind, Doubt fades with the truth that everything is going to be OK. Although I'm challenged now, at some point we all arrive at grace. 

Crossing the Himlaya

 "It is way physically harder than climbing Mt Everest". This was what I was told by a colleague who finished most of the upper crossing.  This is my 44th season in the Himalaya and the first time I felt a tinge of doubt on a project.  Can I and my team do this?  What Im finding as I sit in my hotel room looking over my gear and food for the next 120 days, is that the logistics are outlandishly challenging.  There is gear strewn from one side of the 30 foot room the the other.  If I look at just one aspect of logistics such as resupplies my mind whirls with questions.  We will have 9 food drops for 5 people.  It is looking like we will have 45,  90 liter duffle bags flown to trail heads.  45!!!  This is just one logistic of hundreds we have been working through.  The physical aspect seem trifle compared to the logistical web I seem to be tangled in.  Now it is  5am in Kathmandu and the smell of incense wafts through my open window.  A monkey screeches in the distance, and pigeons coo. I can imagine that the monastery is bustling with saffron robed monks beginning their morning meditation and prayer.  Doubt fades with the truth that everything is going to be OK.  At some point we all arrive at grace.

Crossing the Himalaya

 Hello Everyone,

It has been awhile since I have posted. I have not posted simply because I did not want to travel during covid.  I hope you all have stayed healthy over the last 2 years and have been able to continue your adventures.   Now the time has come.  Im heading back to Nepal with a team of 5 to traverse the Himalaya.  We have planned for 125 days and will start on the Great Himalayan Trail hopefully completing the upper trail.  The word "Trail"  is a misnomer here.  Some parts of it have no trail, some parts are on glaciers, some parts climb 20 over 20,000 feet.  We go with heavy hearts for Ukraine and for the citizens of Russia.  Our prayers go out to them.  

If you want to follow us live on a map you can go to:

share.garmin.com/fourwindsexpeditions

Ill be posting hear once a week or so.  Have a great summer.