Getting Back from Base Camp

There are easier ways to mark a fiftieth birthday...

David Chan knew this.

He knew it during the 5 a.m. treadmill sessions, in the insurance paperwork, and in the conversations with his wife that never quite resolved. At 4,300 metres, he knew it every time he received a message from his friend celebrating the same milestone while sipping cocktails in Vietnam.

And he knew it most clearly at 5,100 metres, unwell and pinned down by a storm, watching his rescue helicopter skid, slide, and crash on landing.

David is a New Zealand-based husband, father, traveller, and occasional collector of questionable ideas that seem much better at sea level than they do above 5,000 metres.

In 2025, he travelled to Nepal to celebrate his fiftieth birthday with a trek to Everest Base Camp. The journey became the inspiration for Getting Back from Base Camp, a story about mountains, family, resilience, and the surprising challenge of finding a way home when everything starts to go wrong.