The Summit: By Radrook
Apr 14, 2021 10:43:44 GMT -5
Post by Radrook Admin on Apr 14, 2021 10:43:44 GMT -5
The Summit
By Radrook
By Radrook
I am alone while scaling Mount Everest. My oxygen is running low-but the summit is very near. All the others have turned back due to the forecasts of inclement weather. Only I remain of the 25 souls that had been attempting the climb. Of course, they all argued against my decision to go on. They called it foolish. Told me that only someone insane would continue under such circumstances. Then, everything else having failed, they fervently pleaded that I should try another day. I refused and here I am. But then the summit had seemed so very close, and yet is now proving to be so very far. I have been gazing at it for hours now since they abandoned me. Yet, with every agonizingly, determined step that I take, it slowly looms nearer.
I hold on with all my strength as strong, frigid gusts of wind constantly assail me as if they were bitterly determined to dislodge me, but I know that all that I need to do is to place one foot over the other, and eventually I will reach it. Just one frost-bitten stump after the other. Just one lung-searing breath after the next, until I plant my flag at the top and yell out to the disbelieving world that I, the double-amputee, have attained what others who are full-limbed could not, or are not willing, even to try.
The storm angrily lashes me savagely as I keep steadily closing the distance to my precious goal. I can’t see the summit any longer since the gusts of wind are whipping up the snow and causing a whiteout. I am climbing blind, but I know that if I keep pushing forward I will eventually make it. I imagine all the others at base-camp, warm in their tents while riding out the storm. I envision them drinking hot coffee and telling one another jokes while confidently planning the ascent when the weather clears up and the sun is visible in the sky above them once more. But where exactly is the glory in that? Even a child can reach Everest’s summit under such ideal conditions.
But reaching the summit of Everest under these conditions requires guts! It demands a steady set of nerves that not everyone possesses. It requires an unyielding iron determination that broaches no retreat nor ever allows any compromises in the face of overwhelming odds. That’s what it demands, and I have it.
I am slowly getting closer, but suddenly the throbbing in my leg-stumps is becoming agonizing. I thought I could ignore it, but it is interfering with my climb, making me grimace in agony with every effort. Yes, I was advised never to climb again after the double- amputation of my legs required by the frostbite I suffered from my last attempt at Everest just a year ago, but I ignored the doctor’s advice. As I explained it to him, reaching the summit despite this obstacle would make my victory that much the sweeter. Of course, he shook his educated head in disagreement, but what does a medical doctor stuck safely in his office all day, know about the glory related to such physically challenging and risky endeavors? “You do your thing doc-and I will do mine.” I told him.
I have been hearing the constant static from base camp on my communicator ever since they arrived there as they constantly attempt to reach me. But I refuse to respond. They only seek to weaken my resolve because they envy me. So they will tell me to start my descent immediately or else risk a certain agonizing death. No! I will not respond, and to make sure, I toss the communicator away into the raging blizzard, so it will not interfere any longer. The blaring, moaning sound of the screaming wind seems far sweeter than the constant crackle of static and intermittent, annoying, cheerfully-smug voices pleading for me to desist for the sake of wife, mother, kids, and ultimately for the sake of myself.
Oh, how strongly I pity those who place such sentimentality above the duty to excel. Above such things as heroism that requires self-sacrifice. I strongly pity all those back at base-camp who tremble in fear when facing overwhelming odds and are willing to compromise their dignity by giving in to such relatively trivial matters. True, I do cherish my loved ones. But if my loved ones really love me, then they will understand why I must do what I must do and will support me.
Certain death, they say? Really? But what exactly is certain death so that we must fear it in that cowardly way? We all must certainly die sooner or later. It is merely a matter of where when and how. Don't they realize that? Aren't they aware of how ephemeral life really is and how important it is to live it as one would wish and not how others demand that we should? No! I will not turn back. My duty is to myself and to nobody else.
Once a more, a horizontal gust of wind, as if in response to my determination, almost dislodges me from my precarious perch, but I am still here, and still stubbornly inching my way upwards. Now and then, between gusts, I catch glimpses of the windswept summit now just ahead semi-illuminated by the faint light of the full moon. It hovers tantalizingly above me like a will-o'-the-wisp approx 200 feet or fewer. My leg stumps are starting to not respond to my efforts but Just one last try and I will be there. Just one small step after the next will assure me the ultimate victory that I so fervently seek. "To reach the summit! To reach the summit To reach the Summit!" I chant to myself as if reciting some sacred mantra just before I lose my footing and go plummeting down to my death.
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There have been a total of 135 deaths from falling and avalanches.
outdoorinquirer.com/mount-everest-deaths/
Mount Everest
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Everest