Many watch lovers dream of taking their prized tool watches on grand adventures, the nicks and scratches on the cases marking memories of life experiences. A relative few actually do it. For journalist and mountaineer Julia Lyubova, on May 15 at exactly 11:00 am Nepal time, Lyubova turned that dream into a reality, summiting the tallest mountain on earth: Chomolungma. Or as it’s known in the Western World, Mount Everest.

On her wrist for the expedition was her beloved Norqain Wild One Skeleton. Not only was this her first time summiting Everest, it was also the first Norqain Wild One to be worn to the top of this legendary, and deadly, mountain. Shortly after returning to her home in Zermatt, Switzerland, Lyubova sat down to answer a few of our questions about Everest, endurance, and keeping time.  

Crown & Caliber: How did you come to the world of alpinism? 

Julia Lyubova: I took up mountaineering later in life, I wasn’t born in the mountains and grew up in cities. I actually did a lot of long distance running first and ran five marathons around the world. But at one point, I decided to change distance for altitude. After getting inspired by a friend, I climbed Kilimanjaro in Africa. This was 2016. I loved the experience and I learned about the Seven Summit project [climbing the highest peak on each of the seven continents] there. 

C&C: Was it always your plan to attempt Everest and the Seven Summits, or did you grow into that ambition?

JL: Soon after Kilimanjaro I climbed Elbrus and Aconcagua, moved to the Alps and began climbing other project 82 4000ers [a mountaineering challenge that involves climbing all 82 recognized 4,000-meter peaks in the European Alps]. Everest was always on my radar but it was for a long time a distant dream. It was only after climbing Ama Dablam in the Himalayas, I decided that I wanted to climb an 8,000 meter peak, which was Manaslu. And I was lucky to get an opportunity to climb Everest just six months after Manaslu.

C&C: Everest is the fourth of the Seven Summits you’ve climbed, but even experienced alpinists say that Everest changes you. What would you say was the most profound, or perhaps surprising aspect of your experience?

JL: I went to Everest with a bit of a wrong mindset; I was told by some friends that it’s ‘easy, for you it’s no problem.’ But Everest taught me that despite seeing all these people on social media seemingly breeze through 8000ers, it is extremely dangerous and hard work. I really wanted to go to K2 but after climbing Everest, I want to build my experience first, so that I enjoy the climbing, rather than just survive it.

C&C: Did you, now looking back, enjoy it? 

JL: I found Everest very difficult despite all my training and preparation. It was very long, you live at the base camp at 5,364 meters (approximately 17,598 feet) for three weeks which takes a toll on your health and wellbeing. And you have to wait around a lot, for the ropes to be fixed, for the weather, it tests your patience a lot. I didn’t know how little patience I had!

C&C: What is one bit of patience that you found was tested? 

JL: Staying healthy up there is one of the biggest challenges. Despite keeping myself as healthy as I could, somewhere I developed a severe throat infection. I summited Everest with it, not knowing I had it at the time. I learned a lot about myself and how my body behaves at high altitude. I also learned a lot about the extreme altitude, how it feels and what it does to my body. I had several scary experiences up there and witnessed death, which was quite traumatizing. I knew that people die on Everest, but I didn’t think I would have to witness it.

C&C: If you're comfortable talking about it, can you explain what you mean when you say you “witnessed death?”

Lyubova: After the summit, Lakpa (my guide) and I descended to Camp 4 where we had a short break. We planned to go all the way down to Camp 2, which means climbing all night without sleep. But it was the safest option to get out of the death zone (the area above 8,000 meters where there is insufficient oxygen and atmospheric pressure to sustain human life). As we were leaving Camp 4 I saw a man who was dead lying just outside the trail out of the camp. It was shocking to see, I thought it was a climber who I saw earlier in the day. I've never seen a dead body in my life before, especially not like that and there it hit me right in the face. I saw two dead bodies on the summit ridge earlier but I mentally prepared for them, they died a few years ago. But this person was new, like today. I checked and he was not moving and not responding, and was clearly dead. We had to go to continue the descent. 

C&C: That sounds like something that would be very hard to see and process while also taking care of yourself and your climb. 

Lyubova: In the coming days I learned that someone died in camp 4 on 14th May, not 15th May, which was my summit day. I thought that was really strange because I didn't see him there on the 14th but on the 15th May. I did a little investigation and it turned out this man, a climber from the Phillipines, Phillip Santiago, did die at camp 4 in the evening of 14th May and his body was moved to the trail so it would be easier to move the body down. I didn't know what to do, how to help, but I got really really scared for my life, that I could well be next. I've never been so scared in my life before. I literally ran down towards Camp 2, away from the death zone and to safety. So up there, it is extremely dangerous and people do die. The line between life and death is very thin on Everest.

C&C: Thank you for sharing that story. To pivot, how did your connection with Norqain come about? 

JL: I love watches and I always dreamt of owning a Swiss watch one day! I live in Zermatt where there’s a Norqain shop. I got to know the manager Serge through my life in Zermatt, skiing and celebrating friends’ birthdays. When I started preparing for my Manaslu expedition in 2024, I was looking for sponsors. I immediately thought of Norqain because they are Swiss, have a presence in Zermatt where I live and more importantly, they have roots in mountaineering. They support my Matterhorn mountain guide and other mountaineers, so I knew about the brand and their association with the mountains and this is why I approached them for our collaboration.

C&C: Why take the Norqain Wild One Skeleton to Everest?

JL: The Wild One Skeleton in turquoise is a high performance sports watch, light yet robust enough for the mountains. It was a great fit for my mountaineering activities and I loved the colour which goes with anything, be it a down suit or a dress! It showed an outstanding performance on top of the world! 

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.