Bethel Park Family Sets Sights on All
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BY JENNIFER BROZAK
Asia Buckley, right, with her father, John, and brother, Brian, have been traveling the world, setting their sights on all seven continents.
Asia Buckley’ s passion for travel began when she was just 4 years old. At the time, her parents were planning a trip to China, and Asia begged them to let her go with them.
It’ s safe to say that in the years since, Asia, a 2012 graduate of Bethel Park High School, has more than made up for her absence on that trip. Now 22, she’ s traveled to five continents, including throughout North America, with plans to visit Australia within the next few years. Along with her family, her plan is to eventually visit all seven continents.
Buckley, who’ s studying public relations and advertising and digital media arts at Duquesne University, has traveled with her father John, 66, and brother Brian, 32, to China, Antarctica and South America, but it was her trip to Nepal to climb Mount Everest that enticed her the most.
“ In the summer of 2008, my dad and brother were traveling to Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, but I wasn’ t invited to go, because I was starting my freshman year of high school,” she explains. Because she was so young, her father was worried that she wouldn’ t have the stamina to keep up on such an intense hike.
To make up for Buckley missing that trip, her father suggested that the two of them hike the Grand Canyon. After they climbed the Grand Canyon“ rim to rim,” John Buckley realized that his young daughter did indeed have the endurance to join them on a major hike.
The retired health and physical education teacher added,“ During that trip to the Grand Canyon, I quickly realized that she had become the leader and I became the follower. I couldn’ t keep up with her.”
When the two of them returned from the Grand Canyon trip, John began to put together a trip to Mount Everest. Asia was intent on joining the excursion.
“ The Grand Canyon was great, but I wanted to go bigger,” she says.“ I wanted to climb Everest.”
Because hiking Mount Everest is not only dangerous, but also costly— a trek up the mountain with a professional sherpa can cost anywhere from $ 65,000 to $ 100,000— the Buckleys decided to instead travel to Everest Base Camp in Nepal, where they spent three weeks trekking routes.
At the time, Buckley was just about to start her first semester at Duquesne, but quickly decided to defer entrance so she could travel.
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