LONDON, ONT. -- His mother says Simon Ghyselincks is someone who loves adventure but his latest trek may have been too adventurous.

In the fall Ghyselincks and his brother Luke headed to Southeast Asia and by March they were in Nepal.

They were at the base of Mt. Everest from March 10 to the 17, while the entire world was coming to grips with the impact of COVID-19. But with no internet, the brothers knew nothing.

Once they found out, Luke made his way back home, but Simon stayed back and over time his situation became more desperate.

“I could feel he was getting he was getting a little nervous…then I'm getting twice as nervous,” said his mother Yvonne Hillis back in London. “He just sounded a little bit desperate with all of the police checks and shutdowns and airport shutdowns and plane cancellations.”

After failed attempts at contacting the Canadian government, Simon was eventually able to secure a flight home through the French Embassy.

“When I got the phone call from the French Embassy…I sprinted the whole way there out of fear that maybe the seat would get taken,” Simon said.

After a layover in Paris, Simon is expected to make it home to London on Sunday.

“Just a wonderful relief to be able to go back to family to have some sense of familiarity in a time in the world when everything has become kind of unfamiliar,” he said.