Writer, climber and guide Majka Burhardt has a penchant for combining adventure climbing and travel to exotic destinations. She does this with a heart-felt emphasis on gaining an greater understanding of the places she visits and the people inhabiting them. A few years ago, she and several other climbers travelled to Ethiopia, known to most Westerners has a place of desert and famine. Majka returned with stories of first ascents and a rich, new perspective of this often misunderstood country. Her book, Vertical Ethopia: Climbing Towards Possibility in the Horn of Africa, vividly documents her Ethiopian climbing adventure. Following an extensive book tour, Majka once again set her sights on Africa - Namibia, this time. In May 2009, she and a small team of climbers departed for that southern African country with two goals in mind: to find a way up an unexplored face, and to find a way into a deeper understanding of that region. She and her team returned having accomplished both. Majka recently released a DVD, Waypoint Namibia (see trailer below), which captures the sights and sounds of her journey. It is available for purchase from her site.
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