THE ORIGINS OF B4EXPERIENCE

In 2014, my 40th birthday present was a trip to wherever I wanted. I started considering options: Denali in Alaska, the northern fjords of Norway…but it was very easy for me to decide on Nepal; taking a trip to the Himalayas was a childhood dream that had never come true. When I thought of Nepal, I only imagined   trekking trips and expeditions to 8,000-meter peaks, and I really didn't feel comfortable with either format.

Teachers show you the way; you decide whether to follow it or not. Jordi Tosas, a childhood friend, had recently returned from the Himalayas after attempting to climb Shisha Pangma (8,013 m) with Kilian Jornet and Jordi Corominas in a very unorthodox way. When I spoke with Jordi Tosas, he immediately proposed a trip that was exactly what I was looking for:

We'll take a trip to the Himalayas, specifically to the Langtang Valley, very close to the Tibetan border, in the middle of winter, using touring skis to try and climb some unclimbed peaks. Afterwards, we'll race back to Kathmandu.

Jordi Tosas explained to me that besides the eight-thousanders, there are countless unknown peaks of five and six thousand meters, many unnamed, and they vary in difficulty. You just have to explore and find the Himalayan trip that best suits your needs.

Lluís Bedós, my adventure companion, joined the project in less than two minutes. A few days later, my cousin Pep Cuberes, who was studying Film and Sound at the time, asked if he could accompany me and a photographer friend, Guillem Casanova, and film a documentary about the trip.

We were a very diverse group, with very different backgrounds: some aspiring filmmakers, some aspiring mountaineers, and a guide, Jordi Tosas, who would introduce us to this new path. The strength of a team lies in combining the experience and knowledge of all its members.

After realizing we couldn't find any maps or information about the area we wanted to go to, Lluís started creating routes and searching for peaks using Google Earth; this would become our map. Pep encouraged some university classmates to do various projects to promote the initiative. They came up with a name, Himalaiaski, a logo, made a first promotional video, and a website. While Guillem took photos to promote the project, I took charge of the more commercial side, and putting everything together, I started looking for sponsors.

Before leaving for Kathmandu, we already knew what we wanted:

We are not looking for the highest or most difficult peaks of the Himalayas, we just want to get off the beaten path, share our passion for nature and explore remote places.

And the result of the whole team's effort was our first film: HIMALAIASKI, the beginning of a new adventure. I hope you like it. (Link to watch the movie for free)

This was the first of many subsequent films and adventures that would take us to the Balkans, Norway, and the  Caucasus, Kamchatka… always with the same goal: to explore and get off the beaten path.

With Himalaiaski, we wanted you to discover unknown places by watching our films. Now, with B4Experience, we're aiming for much more; we want to accompany you so you can create your own adventure.