Dedicated to Julie Tullis RIP -You taught me much and were an inspiration to many-
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Why do I like mountains?
If you are sitting comfortably, I shall begin....
I used to wake early just to see the light of the pre-dawn-sun bathe her slopes. She was beautiful but she evoked awe and fear in me....
Climbing the slopes of any 6000 m (20,500ft) mountain/volcano is an unbelievable task of human stamina. The oxygen-thin air means even strained gulps of air are insufficient and searing pain in your head is the price you pay.
Every footstep or axe-wield takes a heavy toll on your body and I have felt like giving up and dying on many occasions on many mountains. Your mind plays tricks on you and the altitude makes you emotional, paranoid and sometimes depressed.
I have climbed mountains that have taken many, many lives (sometimes hundreds) and I have climbed peaks that have quite possibly never been climbed before. Each is a unique and incredible experience.
The pain must never, ever be underestimated. Climbing a 6000m + peak is a physical experience like no other. It pushes you far beyond any limits you ever thought were possible.
I have witnessed people vomit and go into shock, I have witnessed people snap limbs on ice walls as if their bones were made of brittle chocolate, I have witnessed avalanches, I have fallen into water-filled crevasses, I have watched one of my fingers turn blue then purple and been told that I would lose it (I didn't), I have held people I love as they shake and weep at the feeling of 'failure' of not reaching the summit, I have stood in awe at people I have climbed with who have so much love for the mountain they have climbed all their life that they believe it would be an honour to die there, I have trekked through blizzards, temperatures of minus 40 centigrade and I have believed on three occasions that I would die on the mountain.
But... to stand on the summit of Chimborazo (who is shown above) you are standing way above the clouds, whole weather patterns shift and swirl miles below you (literally), you are standing further from the core of our Earth than any other point on the planet (being on the bulbous equator makes Chimborazo the closest point on Earth to the Sun, far closer than the summit of Everest), you are standing on Earth and yet somehow, not on Earth.
The feeling is indescribable. Elation floods through your exhausted body and you become humbled and weak. I have cried many times on the summits of mountains, I have felt close to those who are no longer with us, I have felt, quite literally.... on top of the world!
I hope this helps.
**************************************************
Why do I like mountains?
If you are sitting comfortably, I shall begin....
I used to wake early just to see the light of the pre-dawn-sun bathe her slopes. She was beautiful but she evoked awe and fear in me....
Climbing the slopes of any 6000 m (20,500ft) mountain/volcano is an unbelievable task of human stamina. The oxygen-thin air means even strained gulps of air are insufficient and searing pain in your head is the price you pay.
Every footstep or axe-wield takes a heavy toll on your body and I have felt like giving up and dying on many occasions on many mountains. Your mind plays tricks on you and the altitude makes you emotional, paranoid and sometimes depressed.
I have climbed mountains that have taken many, many lives (sometimes hundreds) and I have climbed peaks that have quite possibly never been climbed before. Each is a unique and incredible experience.
The pain must never, ever be underestimated. Climbing a 6000m + peak is a physical experience like no other. It pushes you far beyond any limits you ever thought were possible.
I have witnessed people vomit and go into shock, I have witnessed people snap limbs on ice walls as if their bones were made of brittle chocolate, I have witnessed avalanches, I have fallen into water-filled crevasses, I have watched one of my fingers turn blue then purple and been told that I would lose it (I didn't), I have held people I love as they shake and weep at the feeling of 'failure' of not reaching the summit, I have stood in awe at people I have climbed with who have so much love for the mountain they have climbed all their life that they believe it would be an honour to die there, I have trekked through blizzards, temperatures of minus 40 centigrade and I have believed on three occasions that I would die on the mountain.
But... to stand on the summit of Chimborazo (who is shown above) you are standing way above the clouds, whole weather patterns shift and swirl miles below you (literally), you are standing further from the core of our Earth than any other point on the planet (being on the bulbous equator makes Chimborazo the closest point on Earth to the Sun, far closer than the summit of Everest), you are standing on Earth and yet somehow, not on Earth.
The feeling is indescribable. Elation floods through your exhausted body and you become humbled and weak. I have cried many times on the summits of mountains, I have felt close to those who are no longer with us, I have felt, quite literally.... on top of the world!
I hope this helps.
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