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OF NOTE:
  
 
MAJKA BURHARDT

Majka Burhardt is a writer, climber, and AMGA Certified Guide living in Boulder, Colorado. A guide since 1998, Burhardt has guided the entire range of climbing disciplines from high-altitude mountaineering expeditions to multi-pitch alpine rock. As a lifelong adventurer, she has traveled throughout the world by bike, canoe, and, more often than not, by foot.

From the Arctic Ocean to southern Argentina, from the high peaks in the Himalayas to sea cliffs in France, she is drawn to the emotion and internal experience of exploration. Nowhere was this experience more dynamic than on her March 2007 trip to Northern Ethiopia, which despite its war-torn past, is known for having some of the richest natural areas on the continent.

When news of Burhardt’s expedition spread throughout Addis Ababa, Shama Books – an Ethiopian-based publisher – approached Burhardt towards documenting her journey to the remote and unexplored sandstone spires at the roof of Africa. The result is Vertical Ethiopia: Climbing
Toward Possibility in the Horn of Africa (February 2008/$37.99) written by Burhardt, photographed by Gabe Rogel, and published by Shama Books for sale in both the U.S. and Ethiopian market.

Since February, Burhardt has spoken to diverse sets of audiences throughout the United States and Canada about Ethiopia. Her tour events have taken her from the Seattle IMAX Theater, to Book and Books in Miami Beach, to the Houston International Festival, and beyond. Her tour has recently been extended through March 2009. Her presentations combine a slideshow filled with images of climbing, culture, and the immense African landscape with a narrative behind the images. As a speaker, she is interested in exploring new ways of understanding Ethiopia in the midst of the current global landscape where religion, politics, and landscape continually interact and react. Burhardt explored Ethiopia while establishing first ascents on 600’ sandstone towers. Her presentation explores Ethiopia at its multiple points of intersection with the rest of the world.

Through working with Shama, the Ethiopian Publishing company, Burhardt learned to navigate the Ethiopian press rules in a country that has been called one of the worst in the world for freedom of the written word. In her presentation, she shares the full story of her experience—discussing various obstacles the Ethiopian press rules presented to portraying the current military offensive towards Eritrea, recent kidnappings, and the Ethiopian anti-violence movement. Thus, Vertical Ethiopia is more than a story about Ethiopia. It is a story about the making of an Ethiopian product at a time when the nation is on the brink of becoming a global industrial player while trudging through the vestiges of its communist and corrupt past.

Burhardt’s non-fiction work has appeared in Men’s Health, Patagonia, Women’s Adventure, and Climbing where she is a Senior Contributing Editor and her column "Whipped" appears bi-monthly.

Burhardt has an MFA in Creative Writing from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers and received her BA from Princeton University, majoring in Anthropology. She merges these backgrounds with her passion for the outdoors and adventure in her writing.

For more information please visit:

vertical ethiopia

Buy Vertical Ethiopia here (http://www.majkaburhardt.com/
buy-vertical-ethiopia/) and part of the proceeds of your sale will go to the Fistula Foundation, an organization dedicated to treating and eradicating Fistula in Ethiopia. Vertical Ethiopia is also available at Amazon.com and other premier retailers.

About the Photographer

Gabe Rogel is a professional photographer living in Driggs, Idaho. His work has appeared in National Geographic Adventure, Outside, Skiing, and Climbing. He often shoots for Marmot Mountain Ltd. and Patagonia Inc. www.rogelphoto.com

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FEATURED AUGUST 2008 GUEST: Majka Burhardt

GOOD THIEVERY

"It is good to be robbed in Ethiopia," the man says.
"It is good to be robbed?" I ask.
"Yes, in Ethiopia."

It’s four o’clock in the afternoon, and we are sitting in a block-and-mortar room in the back of a complex that houses the local jail, court, and magistrate. The windows are simple portals through the wall, with wooden shutters and steel locks. The floor is dirt, layered with barley shoots.

sisters ethiopia
Sisters outside of their home in Nebelet, Ethiopia
Photo by Gabe Rogel

I sigh, and then ask, "Why is it good to be robbed in Ethiopia?"
"Where else would your possessions be returned?"

Earlier that day, I was 60 meters into a climb when I looked down and saw a young boy going through my pack. He and his friends went through the other packs as well, and made off with money, a camera, a watch, and two pairs of sunglasses.

Climbing in Ethiopia
Kristie Arend on the first ascent of Jewel in the Sand, 5.11, Tigray Ethiopia - Photo by Gabe Rogel

I recognized the boy when I walked into the jail compound 10 minutes ago. You can’t hide for long in this village, especially if you are wearing new, bright-blue sunglasses.

Climbing in Ethiopia
Majka waiting for a verdict in Megab court
Photo by Gabe Rogel

"Don’t you agree?" the officer asks. He holds out my camera.
I grasp it gratefully. It even still has my photos on the memory card.

"Yes," I say. "Definitely." I start to put the camera back in my bag.
The officer reaches over and takes the camera away from me.
"So it is yours?" he says.
"Of course."
He tucks it into a drawer. "Good."

Climbing in Ethiopia
Majka on the first ascent of Learning the Hard Way, 5.10+, Tigray, Ethiopia - Photo by Gabe Rogel

Three different times we will have the same interaction: I will identify my camera and have it taken away shortly thereafter. I will fill out forms in a language I don’t understand. I will walk by the jail cell that holds the boys who stole from us. I will be asked to identify which boy was at my pack and which boys were at the other packs.

Sitting on a wooden bench and leaning my head against the cool earthen wall, I worry about what will happen to the boys. We all worry. We have heard stories of disproportionate punishment in Africa. Who hasn’t? But we are in Megab, nine kilometers west of Hawzien. Everyone knows everyone here, and we are assured that everyone is fair.

man ethiopia
Ethiopian Farmer at rest below Nebelet Towers.
Photo by Gabe Rogel

Eventually, our things will be returned—well, all but Caroline’s sunglasses. Somewhere in northern Ethiopia is a boy with white-enamel aviator glasses shielding his eyes from the sun.

 

© Majka Burhardt 2008

Vertical Ethiopia, Climbing Toward Possibility in the Horn of Africa, by Majka Burdhart: Shama Books, 2007, page 119.
 
 
 
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