Touching Everest: A Different Way of Experiencing the Summit
Karolina during the Everest Base Camp trek in May 2023
About the project
Dr Karolina Pakėnaitė, also known as Caroline, is working towards becoming the first DeafBlind person to summit Mount Everest.
The project is grounded in lived experience of Usher syndrome, a condition in which she was born deaf and began losing her sight at the age of 19. While some usable vision and hearing remain, the expedition reframes engagement with the world through high-altitude mountaineering, with Everest as a long-term objective.
Through this journey, the project seeks to challenge assumptions about deafblindness and broaden understanding of access and participation in the outdoors. More broadly, it explores how opportunity, support, and thoughtful adaptation can enable people with complex sensory impairments to engage meaningfully in extreme environments.
What’s next?
Over the past few years, Karolina has completed the key challenges required for an Everest summit attempt. This has included endurance events such as ultramarathons, alongside multiple expeditions designed to progressively build high-altitude experience.
The Everest summit in 2027 is now the next objective.
Click here to view the progress of the project or make a donation to support the journey.
Get Involved
As sight continues to change over time, timing is an important factor in the journey. However, this is not a path taken alone.
Would you like to join me in training challenges, support the expedition through sponsorship or collaborate on research and innovation related to accessibility and the outdoors?
If any of these resonate, I’d love to hear from you.