JJ Yosh adopted Simon, a black Bombay cat rescued from euthanasia in 2016, and the pair from Boulder, Colorado have spent the past decade quietly becoming one of adventure social media's strangest success stories. As Backpacking Kitty, they count more than 15 countries, four continents, over 100 flights, whitewater rafting on California's Sacramento River, a volcano climb in Guatemala, treks in the Austrian Alps, and, according to Yosh, a dozen of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks — all with an audience of around 11 million followers.

The next chapter is bigger: a multi-year bid on the Seven Summits, the tallest mountain on each continent. The list covers Denali, Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Mount Elbrus, Vinson Massif, Puncak Jaya and Everest over roughly three years.

Before anyone calls animal welfare services: Simon is not going anywhere near the Death Zone. His ceiling on Everest is Base Camp, at 17,598 feet, where he'll stay with a trusted pet sitter while Yosh pushes for the summit. "Nothing above it, no exceptions," Yosh says. On Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua — both non-technical walk-ups — Simon may go higher than base camp, with decisions made on the ground and guided by veterinary advice. If the answer is ever "too high for a cat," he simply doesn't go.

The preparation is more serious than the Instagram caption suggests. Living in Boulder at about 6,000 feet, Simon gets steady altitude exposure on Colorado high-country outings, climbs an indoor wall at Yosh's cliffside home, has done technical rope climbs in a small-dog harness, and even snowboards. He travels with an expedition-grade gear wardrobe, and he's paperwork-sorted too: a US ID card, an EU pet passport, and no cargo-hold flights — though every country still requires its own health certificates.

There's a genuinely sweet core to the story. Yosh recalls how Simon went missing for three days shortly after the adoption, while Yosh was filming in Bolivia — he only found out later, and says that if it happened mid-expedition today, he'd abandon the climb. He credits the cat as an emotional anchor when the grind of expedition life wears him down: the hardest moments aren't the scary ones, they're the drained ones, and Simon's end-of-day tent cuddle ritual is the reset.

For travellers, it's a fun one to follow even if you leave your own cat at home. Yosh's route hints at what an animal-inclusive adventure trip actually takes: gradual acclimatisation, vet input, harness training from home, and honest limits. And if you're heading to Everest Base Camp yourself, there's a decent chance a very well-equipped Bombay cat will already be there.

Story first reported by Outside Travel.