Travelers these days increasingly spice up their tourism with adventure. Through their new Karuna Project, Seth Quigg and Nicole Blaser add a third dynamic to the equation: the opportunity to make a difference in other people’s lives.
Karuna is the Sanskrit word for “compassion.” Seth and Nicole chose Karuna Project as the name of their Mt Crested Butte-based company to focus on the power of the travel industry to uplift humanitarian efforts worldwide.
In many ways, the company is the culmination of their shared values and varied life paths. Seth and Nicole met in 2007 when they were wilderness instructors for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). “Nicole was my boss,” Seth said. Both worked 30-day remote expeditions for NOLS for over a decade in many far-flung locations, including New Zealand, India, Mexico, Bolivia, Norway, and many wild places across the U.S.
During their time at NOLS, Nicole and Seth became good friends and bonded over their love of the wilderness and the joy of teaching outdoor skills to others. They kept in touch over the years, and though they often lived on different continents and worked in different fields, the two began developing the skills and experiences that would inspire their future work together.
“The thrill of outdoor adventures lies not only in the physical challenges but also in the potential for personal growth,” Nicole said. “By taking calculated risks, we can discover new depths within ourselves. These experiences have the potential to be deeply transformational.”
With this mindset, Nicole sought transformational experiences, including making history in 2001 as the first woman to snowboard down North America’s highest peak, Alaska’s Denali Mountain. Her passion for adventure increased as she embarked on a 37-day sailing trip across the Pacific Ocean. Wanting to share perspective-shifting outdooring opportunities with others, Nicole worked with a mentorship program, taking urban youth on eight-day wilderness expeditions. She also became a certified yoga instructor in several traditions, enrolled in a master’s program in environmental law, and, driven by a dedication to doing her part to mitigate the world’s climate crisis, she directed a Conservation Corps program.
From her many experiences, Nicole learned that “everyone has something to teach,” she said, “The innercity youth taught me important life skills. While I was teaching them wilderness skills, they were showing me a kind of resilience I didn’t know existed. I learned that everyone, given the opportunity, can succeed. Whatever position a person has in life, we all have something to offer.”
Meanwhile, Seth’s career led him to own a successful global adventure travel business, where he honed his relationship-building skills and ability to create strategic partnerships. Even when employed in the for-profit travel industry, he organized service projects for his guests, driven by his belief in the importance of positive contributions and giving back. Focusing on his cross-cultural competency, Seth also became conversational in the Nepali, KiSwahili, Spanish, and Hindi languages.
“Beyond learning from one another, there is an opportunity for empowering one another. Labeling a group as ‘under-served’ can rob people of their empowerment. Usually, they are just under-resourced,” said Seth.
After meeting the founder of a solar company, Seth partnered in creating Light the Path Expeditions. Before embarking on a 13-day trek, the travel company and its guests distributed more than 400 solar lanterns in Tanzania and 500 in Nepal to people without electricity. They also raised $20,000 and installed solar panels for a Maasai school.
When Seth’s and Nicole’s paths crossed again in Crested Butte, they started a winter ritual: skinning up Snodgrass Mountain every morning at dawn to train for the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse. During those early-morning excursions, their respective humanitarian side hustles came into play, and they began to hatch a dream.
“We have similar and different skill sets,” said Nicole. “We are both adventurers and love the outdoors, especially wilderness. I am detail-oriented and good at managing finances. I do the paperwork that most people hate.”
While Nicole is a meticulous, detail-oriented partner, Seth thrives at creating connections and relationships. “I apply my love for people of all walks of life to relationship-building, client networking, partner collaborations, and business development,” he said.
Together, Nicole and Seth are helping to shape a new philanthropic model that moves away from the old “charity” archetype. They explained that under that approach, earnest tourists might travel to a foreign place and paint a school for a local community. Not long after, another well-intentioned group would come along and paint the same school, offering little value and inadvertently creating an odd ‘saviorism’” dynamic. The new model includes building local capacity and encouraging local empowerment within the communities of focus.
“Instead of giving stuff to people or doing a bunch of work for people in other parts of the world, the idea is to foster leadership so that the local folks can source products independently. They become educated to successfully complete their own projects. I believe this should be the mission for the $9 billion travel industry, supporting local empowerment. The travel industry, with private funding, can be a change-maker, having the possibility to positively impact the world,” said Seth.
“We want to help without harming. We always try to predict the long-term effect of our footprint in another place.”
Nicole added, “We also believe compassion is very important. Adventure travelers can put compassion into practice around the world. We attended a humanitarian exposition in Geneva last fall and learned that this is the new thinking. The era of certain groups serving the ‘under-served’ is coming to a close. We are evolving into the realization that we can all be of service to each other. It can be an exchange of service.”
In that vision, cultural exchange is critical; each can learn from the other. “The challenge is helping without destroying,” Seth said. “We want to help without harming. We always try to predict the long-term effect of our footprint in another place.”
The Karuna Project undertook its first three-week adventure and cultural exchange trip to Nepal in November of 2023 with 14 clients from the United States, Australia, Peru, and the United Kingdom. Clients learned about the opportunity through social media or past adventures with Nicole and Seth. Proceeds from their expedition fees, along with a local puffy jacket fundraiser, were used to provide 160 primary school uniform jackets to students in the Kakani village near Kathmandu, and Karuna funds are also being used to install a water filtration system to provide school children in the area with access to clean drinking water.
Seth and Nicole led another trip to Nepal in the fall and currently have five trips open for registration in 2025, including an expedition to Everest Basecamp, to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, to Peru to hike the Inca Trail, and a river trip along the India Ladock River. They are also partnering with Western Colorado University for a custom trip to Peru with Western students and professors. All trips include visits to local communities and areas off the beaten path.
Jessica Noll, 29, owns a kids’ yoga organization in Crested Butte and traveled to Nepal as part of Karuna’s inaugural trip. She found it powerful to spend time at the Kakani village and school. “Even though I don’t speak the language, I absolutely experienced a heartfelt connection with the students, teachers, and parents I met. People on our trip ranged from 28 to 68 years old. Our group in itself was a multicultural experience, as were all the people we met in Nepal. We learned from the guides, local villagers, students, and each other important multicultural lessons. I experienced that spirituality is intentional and infused into their Nepali culture.”
For Jessica, a big takeaway from the trip was taking care of herself. “Self-care only deepens the value in helping and being compassionate to others.”
Fellow Karuna traveler Mackenzie Anderson, 28, also from Crested Butte, is in the property management business and is hoping to start a full-care pet business.
“For me, visiting the temples and witnessing cremations helped me ponder death in a new way. We watched bodies being cremated in pyres along the river. Then, the ashes were put in the river. The ceremony was accompanied by music, people wearing colorful clothing, people’s painted faces, and there were even vendors at the event. I came to appreciate the Nepalis’ powerful belief that life doesn’t end with death. Living on earth is just part of the soul’s evolution. It helped me realize the importance of intentionally showing compassion and kindness to one another,” said Mackenzie.
The trip impacted her in other ways as well, she said. “The highest peak we climbed was 18,500 feet. I gained so much self-confidence from that trek, along with the cultural interactions and education.”
Mackenzie and Jessica talked about the daily mental and physical challenges of the trip. They agreed that the overall experience changed them and led them toward living a more purposeful life with greater karuna.