State of Grace
Perhaps because temperatures soared into the 90’s, or more likely because I have a fascination with the quest of mountain climbing, I immersed myself in the Sundance award-winning documentary Meru and the IMAX adaptation of Into Thin Air. Twice. If I hadn’t spent so many hours getting higher and higher in an air-conditioned theater, I might not have let my September blog deadline slip by. No, I have not climbed Everest – only gazed with awe and wonder at the highest peaks in India, Nepal and Pakistan. Pondering the big questions.
What compels someone to undertake such an irrational act as climbing Everest (29,029’) or scaling Meru (21,667’)? It’s not as if an Olympic medal or pot of gold waits at the top. With the treachery of sheer surfaces, thin air, shifting ice, bottomless crevasses, violent storms and killer avalanches, what fuels this intense desire? Detractors who have never laced up boots or strapped on crampons tend to compartmentalize. Thrill seekers, adrenaline junkies, hubris and fame, they accuse. But I don’t think so. Read More »