Mount Everest is calling

As if running for mayor of Post Falls, riding a penny-farthing across the U.S. and walking with lions isn't enough, Julian Redman, 30, is ready to climb Mount Everest.

The 2007 Post Falls High School graduate, who now lives in Cairo, Egypt, and works as a writer and editor for an industry publication, is departing for Nepal today with his brother, Aaron, for a 12-day adventure climbing 17,600 feet to the Everest Base Camp.

"It's not the perilous, asking-to-die trek that summiting the mountain can be," Redman told The Press via WhatsApp message. "I read (Jon) Krakauer's 'Into Thin Air' when I was in high school, which probably killed any real desire to climb the whole mountain for me. I've always wanted to visit Nepal though, and seeing base camp will give me the opportunity to meet and talk with people who are actually making summit bids, so I'm excited for that.

"Plus, the Sherpa culture is really neat and it'll be nice to have some clean mountain air and beautiful scenery, something I've come to miss living in Cairo."

Redman, who has an insatiable thirst for adventure, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro on his birthday several years ago. He said the Everest Base Camp is 2,000 feet lower than that, so he's definitely excited, but not really nervous.

"I find my life is better when I'm uncomfortable," he wrote. "New experiences, particularly ones that challenge us, help us to grow and understand more about ourselves, the world we live in and the people that populate it. To me, the value of travel and new experiences in your life is this: When you are uncomfortable, you grow. You adapt. You learn what your strengths and weaknesses are. You experience different people, cultures and viewpoints. These things force you outside of your comfort zone in a way that sitting at home on your couch probably won't."

Lynn Affeldt, of Post Falls, is like a mom to Redman. He went to school with her sons and became a part of their family. She said Redman "is one of those exceptional, global human beings that inspires the adventurous in all of us."

"He embraces the opportunity to explore our world, works hard to do so, then gets out there to really live life, not let it get past him," she said. "When I wanted to travel to Ireland and kept putting it off, Julian was the one to encourage me to 'Just buy the ticket and figure out the rest later. Don’t wait any longer!' He was right, so I went, and I’ll be going back; that’s testament in itself!"

Redman just has a way of enthusiastically throwing himself into whatever he does, she said.

"Whether he’s making his signature French onion soup or homemade Käsespätzle, pulling the most outrageous and elaborate April Fools' Day jokes (a live chicken was once involved — no worries — she wasn’t harmed!) or surprising the daylights out of you with a Christmas visit all the way from Cairo by sneaking in and sitting very still under your Christmas tree until noticed — I almost dropped the wine bottle I was holding for dinner," she said. "He is, without a doubt, the most eclectic person I have ever met."