The Mercury News

Wish You Were Here

- Readers are sharing their travel dreams — and you can, too, by emailing jburrell@ bayareanew­sgroup.com.

Himalayas

San Jose resident Heather Werner is on an expedition to summit Mount Everest this spring. “Heather’s goal is to summit the highest peak in each of the seven continents — known colloquial­ly as the ‘Seven Summits,’ ” says her husband, Chris. If all goes well this month, Everest will be her sixth, with only Alaska’s Denali remaining.

But Heather, a hairstylis­t and owner of Campbell’s Foundation­s Hair Studio, may have already broken a world record we didn’t even know existed. “Returning to Everest Base Camp from her first acclimatiz­ation climb through the Khumbu Icefall,” Chris says, “She has set what we believe to be the record for ‘highest elevation haircut,’ completing four cuts of team members and Sherpa at Camp 1 (19,500 feet). Not to be outdone, she topped herself by providing a fun ‘faux-hawk’ cut for her team’s expedition leader Jonathan Schrock at Camp 2 (21,000 feet). The previous record seems to have been held by a FrenchCana­dian stylist on top of Mount Kilimanjar­o (19,341 feet).”

Heather, who has been posting her adventures on Instagram, says, “After building a makeshift salon chair at Camp 1, @foundation­s_hairandmak­eup Everest was open for business. … A huge thank you to my models, who were brave enough to let me work when my brain was slightly oxygen-starved. If the weather holds and I’m not a wreck at higher camps, we may try to boost our number as we climb. But for now, it feels damn good to be a world record holder.”

In case you wondered, those ’dos included long layers for @dakik_climbs, a bang trim for Lilia, a tousled pompadour for Ed, blunt ends with a middle part for Pasang Kanch and a textured faux-hawk for Schrock.

Travel tip: Unless you’re mountain climbing with Heather, this is not an Everest base camp perk for everyone. Best get that faux-hawk before you climb.

 ?? COURTESY OF THE WERNER FAMILY ?? Hairstylis­t Heather Werner, who owns a salon in Campbell, pauses to style the locks of fellow climbers at Everest Base Camp, breaking a world record for highest elevation haircut in the process.
COURTESY OF THE WERNER FAMILY Hairstylis­t Heather Werner, who owns a salon in Campbell, pauses to style the locks of fellow climbers at Everest Base Camp, breaking a world record for highest elevation haircut in the process.

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