Who are Jerry & the Skychasers?
Skychasers is a trekking and adventure outfitter specializing in journeys to the High Himalaya of Nepal. Former Kathmandu resident and Nepal junkie, Jerry Lapp, founded Skychasers as a means of introducing others to this exotic region, known for its mountains, underrated for its colorful culture/religion, and overachieving with its hospitable people. In his own words . . .
I’ve been living in or traveling to the Nepal Himalaya for the past 17 years, and over time it’s become a major life-giving force for me. Every visit gives me renewed energy, confidence in myself and humanity, clarity of mind, and a focus on the things that are truly important in life. One day on trek can instantly reorder priorities to where they should be.
Jerry & the Skychasers’ mission is to transition from keeping all of this for himself to bottling and sharing it with you as well. Don’t worry, every tour will have plenty of mountains – that’s a given – but there’s so much more out there that can only be experienced through time and exploration. Rest assured that we have done your homework for you so you can relax and immediately plunge into all the Himalaya and its people have to offer. Our goal with this kind of insider experience is to make you feel like you’re leaving home when you leave Nepal. Jerry brings his energy and experience to design and lead each and every tour.
The Road to Becoming Jerry & the Skychasers
- 1991 Big Bike Ride: Cannon Beach, Oregon to Ocean City, New Jersey
- 1993 Four Corners Bike Tour: rode a thousand mile loop with family and friends in the American Southwest
- 1994 8,000 mile winter road trip . . . Pennsylvania to Alaska, the Yukon, the northern Northwest Territories and proceeding nervously onto the ice roads of the Arctic Ocean
- 1994 Six months working housekeeping, making beds, and adventuring in Yosemite National Park
- 1995 Big Bike Ride #2: Tierra del Fuego north to the Equator . . . unfinished business? continue riding north from the Equator to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, someday
- 1996-1998 Over-the-Road truck driver, ending up in 46 US states + Canada
- 1998 Road trip across Canada with the new girlfriend . . . we’re still together!
- 1999-2003 Head to Nepal for trekking holiday . . . love it, end up staying 4.5 yrs, becoming fluent in Nepali, getting married, managing a silver jewelry export co., trekking much more, becoming a dad, and finish it off with a year of photography and research
- 2004 Travel withdrawal, babies
- 2005 Quick trip to Alaska
- 2006-2008 More withdrawal, more babies
- 2009 Trek to Everest Base Camp
- 2010 Bag Hawaii, last on the list, travel to Afghanistan
- 2011 Costa Rica tour with extended family
The Bio
Jerry lives with his wife, Mary Ellen, and kids Anabelle, Henry and Maisy in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA. Over the past eight years, he’s been heavily involved in resettling Bhutanese-Nepali refugees, through volunteering directly with the refugees and serving on the advisory board of CWS, the local resettlement agency. He teaches the occasional Nepali language class to service providers and Nepal travelers. Recently, Jerry and the family have stayed busy with fundraising for Nepal earthquake relief and supporting The Common Wheel, a hometown community bike shop. Jerry loves to use his bicycles for transport, exercise, and mind medicine, and has been known to bribe his suspicious children to be partners in crime on offbeat adventures.
