Kelsey Bone and Scot Pominville took their love to new heights — quite literally — by getting engaged on Mount Everest and tying the knot atop Mount Kilimanjaro.
The couple, who’ve spent the past seven years exploring the world together, got engaged during a hiking trip to Nepal in September. While trekking up Mount Everest, Pominville secretly carried an engagement ring in his backpack — nervously hoping Bone wouldn’t stumble across it before the big moment.
“Luckily, she never did,” he told CBC. Though Bone had a hunch the proposal might happen on the trip, she was still surprised when he dropped to one knee. “I thought we were just stopping for some photos,” she recalled. “Then I looked to my side, and there he is.”
Their engagement was as private as it was scenic — just the two of them and the Himalayas.
Not ones for traditional weddings, Bone and Pominville said they had always envisioned something more adventurous. “I figured I’d always end up eloping or something like that — combining adventure with love,” Bone said.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/Mt-Kilimanjaro-072925-3f8ec233ff114e1e887efaa02a3a53df.jpg)
The opportunity came when two of their friends invited them to hike Mount Kilimanjaro. Initially, the couple didn’t want to steal the spotlight — until one of the friends revealed they had recently become ordained.
That sealed it.
Bone quickly found a used wedding dress online that could slip over hiking gear. “The first one I tried on turned out to be perfect,” she said.
After a seven-day trek up Africa’s tallest peak, Bone put on her dress, and the couple exchanged vows at 19,341 feet — surrounded by clouds and close friends.
“I was one of those kids who never dreamed of my wedding,” Bone said. “But this? This was absolutely perfect.”
Pominville summed it up simply: “The important part is who it’s to — not where it is or what it is.”
