 Mt. Everest journal entry:
May 23, 2009
–4F with 60 mph wind
“We scrambled upward, closer and closer to our
goal, until I noticed people sitting up
ahead on the snow mound. I was afraid to
ask the burning question, for fear the
answer would be “no”. Finally, the words
slipped from my lips…”Is this the summit?”.
With a beaming smile, my Sherpa said
simply…”yes”. A few steps further and I
unhooked my safety line and sat on the snow
covered hump. I was on top of the world! A
shrine marking the highest point on earth,
was behind my back. I wanted to shout to
the world “I made it!”. This dream had been
16 years in the making. I borrowed a
satellite phone and tried to make two
calls. The phone was not getting a signal,
and I felt panicked trying to share my joy,
with no way to reach home. After repeated
tries, and the head Sherpa urging us to
hurry, I heard my Dad’s voice on the other
end of the frozen phone. Lori?…Lori?…
Dad?…Dad?…We tried to hear each other’s
voice over the broken line. It was a joyous
moment for both, as I screamed “I made
it!”. We both choked back the tears of
excitement, but Dad said, “Now we’ve got to
get you down!”. His fear as a father was
not over. Lakpa Rita, our head Sherpa, gave an
urgent order. The weather was deteriorating
quickly, and we must get down NOW. I passed
my camera to Tshering, who snapped a few
photos, as I tried to unfurl and hold my
flags in the face of the wind. With
only a few minutes on top of the world, and
no real chance to savor the victory, it was
time to make the 6 hour, dangerous climb
back down to Camp 4, in the face of the
blizzard.” |
