{"id":17069,"date":"2026-09-05T12:38:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=17069"},"modified":"2026-09-05T12:38:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:38:50","slug":"jj-yosh-is-taking-his-rescue-cat-simon-to-everest-base-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=17069","title":{"rendered":"JJ Yosh Is Taking His Rescue Cat Simon to Everest Base Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Published September 5, 2026 06:30AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Had JJ Yosh<\/a>, an adventure content creator based in Boulder, Colorado, simply taken his cat, Simon, on a handful of hikes and posted the videos online, I would have dismissed it as a pet-thetic<\/em> social media stunt. But a decade after adopting the black Bombay cat, the duo\u2014better known to millions as Backpacking Kitty<\/a> on Instagram and TikTok\u2014has built something far more remarkable. Together they\u2019ve hiked the Austrian Alps, whitewater rafted California\u2019s Sacramento River, climbed a volcano in Guatemala, and traveled to more than 15 countries and four continents. They\u2019ve flown on over 100 flights, including on a seaplane, and kayaked some of the most remote waterways in the world, taking an audience of 11 million followers along with them, and making Simon less of a novelty and more like a bona fide field companion. Now Yosh has something even more ambitious in mind. He\u2019s preparing to take Simon on a multi-year Seven Summits spree.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m positive he\u2019s the only cat who has summited a dozen of Colorado\u2019s 14ers,\u201d Yosh says of Simon who he rescued from euthanasia in 2016<\/a>. Yet even those accomplishments, and, arguably, the title of one of the most famous cats in the world, pale beside this latest odyssey. Over the next three years, they plan to tackle the tallest mountain on every continent: Denali, Mount Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Mount Elbrus, Vinson Massif, Puncak Jaya, and the world\u2019s highest peak, Mount Everest.<\/p>\n

A Push for the Seven Summits with a Cat in Tow<\/h2>\n

Before you picture a cat being hauled into Everest\u2019s notorious Death Zone\u2014a place so hostile to life it contains only about a third of the oxygen available at sea level\u2014rest easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m definitely not taking Simon to the summit. I\u2019m not risking his life,\u201d Yosh says. While Yosh makes his push for the top, Simon will be living the considerably cushier life at Everest Base Camp with a dedicated pet sitter, people he already knows and trusts. Yosh is emphatic that Simon\u2019s health and safety come first.<\/p>\n

JJ Yosh and Simon hiking bluffs. (Courtesy of JJ Yosh)\u00a0<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHow high he goes depends entirely on the mountain,\u201d Yosh says. That means, for Everest, Base Camp\u00a0is his ceiling. \u201cNothing above it, no exceptions.\u201d For Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua? Those are non-technical walk-ups, so there is more room. \u201cHe could go higher than base camp on those, and how much higher gets decided on the ground rather than promised in advance.\u201d As for everywhere else, Yosh will assess each peak one at a time, and veterinary opinions will inform each decision.<\/p>\n

Yosh says, \u201c If the answer is that it is too high for a cat, that is the end of it. He does not go.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all part of the careful balance Yosh has spent the past decade striking with his feline partner. Simon may be born for adventure\u2014while he does trek via leash, he\u2019s happiest riding Yosh\u2019s shoulders through forests and across alpine trails, even snowboarding\u2014he\u2019s still a cat, with very real limitations. For example, while Yosh was on a Mount Baker crevasse rescue training ahead of his Seven Summits bid recently, Simon wasn\u2019t practicing self-arrests. Which begs the question: How do you prepare a house cat for extreme altitude? After all, Everest Base Camp sits at a breath-stealing 17,598 feet.<\/p>\n

The answer starts at home.<\/p>\n

A Cat Who\u2019s Climbed Colorado\u2019s 14ers<\/h2>\n

In Boulder, where the pair live at roughly 6,000 feet above sea level, acclimatization is woven into everyday life. Yosh\u2019s home\u2014playfully known as \u201cthe house his cat built<\/a>\u201d\u2014is tucked into a rocky cliff and outfitted with an indoor climbing wall scaled by both owner and pet. Outside, Colorado\u2019s high country is Simon\u2019s natural conditioning ground, where regular mountaineering outings have gradually exposed him to thinner air\u2014one might say the purrfect<\/i> conditions\u2014long before the Himalayas come into view. Yosh has even taken Simon on technical rope climbs, securing him a small-dog harness. And when it comes to gear, Simon is just as outfitted as his owner: Yosh has assembled a wardrobe for Simon to rival any serious adventurer\u2019s, with specialized gear for seemingly every climate, condition, and expedition.<\/p>\n

Add to that the deep relationship these two have built. Even talking about the possibility of something happening to Simon makes Yosh visibly shaken.<\/p>\n

\"JJ
JJ Yosh hugging his loyal adventure partner, his cat Simon.<\/span> (Photo: Courtesy of JJ Yosh)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The depth of that bond was forged early. Not long after Yosh adopted Simon, he left the cat with a friend while filming a commercial in Bolivia. What Yosh didn\u2019t learn until later was that Simon had gone missing for three days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully, they didn\u2019t tell me at the time,\u201d Yosh says. \u201cThey\u2019d put up missing posters everywhere, but I had no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even now, the memory rattles him. \u201cIf that happened today and I found out while I was on a mountain, I\u2019d turn around. I wouldn\u2019t be able to finish the climb,\u201d he says. \u201cYou have to be in a good mental place to climb a mountain, and I wouldn\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how close they are. For Yosh, adventuring together is as much about having his kitty companion weigh down his pack during the most challenging parts of the journey as it is about having him as a support animal when the expedition day is through.\n<\/div>\n\n

\u201cThis work can be so taxing and draining. You question why you\u2019re doing it over and over again,\u201d Yosh says. \u201cThat\u2019s where having Simon is such a huge emotional pillow. The hardest moments usually aren\u2019t the scary, high-adrenaline ones. They\u2019re when the weight of the whole expedition catches up with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether he\u2019s just finished an ultrarun or a grueling climb, Yosh knows there\u2019s one constant: Simon, curled up in the tent ready for a cuddle at the end of the day. In a life all about relentless forward motion, that ritual has become the reset that keeps him going. It will be tested during their next challenge.<\/p>\n

\"JJ
JJ Yosh and Simon rest at a Badlands overlook.<\/span> (Photo: Courtesy of JJ Yosh)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But first, there are the logistics to work through. Namely, the travel concerns of hop-scotching the planet with a cat. Fortunately, this isn\u2019t Simon\u2019s first rodeo. He has a U.S. ID card and an E.U. pet passport that allows him to easily cross borders, and he doesn\u2019t fly cargo. \u201cBut of course he has to get all of these health certificates for each country,\u201d Yosh says.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the tricky reality of lengthy flights and layovers. Naturally, I had to ask, does Simon get jet lag?<\/p>\n

\u201cSimon gets so excited every time we reach a new hotel or destination,\u201d Yosh says. \u201cHe\u2019s like ready to go.\u201d Apparently, when you\u2019re an international adventuring cat of mystery, the only thing tougher than Everest is waiting for room service. That, and then clawing your way into mountaineering history.<\/p>\n