About twenty years ago I cultivated the passion for mountaineering.
Every Friday I was preparing and carefully checking my beloved equipment to be ready for the next day. I took beautiful trips on the Italian side of the Alps, sometimes alone, sometimes with a few friends who shared the same interest with me.
After many years, I can still recall the feelings I had whilst climbing on dangerous tracks, the beautiful landscapes, some nights spent in a tent discussing the best way to the summit.
I took some risks, and a couple of times I found myself hanging on a rope with a mile of nothing below my feet. I was excited, though, empowered by that sensation of thrill, of gambling.
In the past few days I carefully followed the news about the latest expedition on one of the 8000s, the K2, a massive giant of ice and stone lying on the border between Pakistan, Nepal and China.
A tragedy.
Has been reported that more than nine people died and a number are still lost at an height of more than 8000 meters. Only a couple of them managed to make it to safety. Terrible.
Apart the technicalities, the possible errors made and some unfortunate conditions, we are not very far from the statistics. Since the fifties, while climbing Mount Everest and K2, the two highest mountains on earth, respectively 9% and 27% of people died. This means that, if you ever decide to participate to an expedition to reach the top of the world, you already know that there is a probability of about 30 per cent not to make it, to die.
Why on earth human beings risk their life in this way, instead to stay in the safety of their homes?
The answer is written on the story books of the last ten thousand years, and more than this.
We are explorers, we test our limits, we reach out for emotions, we like to play with God, and sometime we lose. Without our burning desire to tempt the unknown, we might still live in caves and hunt rabbits, without cars, phones, internet, space exploration.
But we don’t, because this is human nature, and it will always be, tomorrow and in ten thousand years from now, we will not change.
We are extraordinary beings, we are reaching incredible levels of experience and knowledge. I would like to make a tribute, here and now, to those who died in that mountain, to those who showed us how to never surrender, even at cost of their own life.
Sir Edmond Hilary said that he did not conquer Everest, he only conquered himself. All such endeavors are basically man testing himself to see how much he can push himself.
My hats off to you if you had been a mountaineer. It is a remarkable sport calling for tremendous character and discipline.
A wonderful tribute to those who have perished. For their desire to challenge themselves, and do the thing that they love. They died doing that which they loved, and hopefully their families and friends can take some comfort in that.
I have tried some basic rock climbing, but never to the extreme that you have done. I found that I have a moderate fear of heights. I concur with Rummuser, My hat’s off to you.
Awesome photo, I’m too scared of heights and don’t like cold so would never go, but love the pictures taken.
@ rummuser, Eric, Sheri
Thank you for the appreciation.
We are becoming so insensitive that when we read the news we cannot feel anymore the real tragedies beneath the lines. I followed this tragedy as a mountaneering enthusiast and as a fellow human. My solidariety is also with the families mourning their loss.
Elio this is a tragedy and my heart goes out to the families of these adventurous human beings.
I cannot say I know what that feels like. I know what it feels like to push myself to the extremes of life. To love something so much that the dangers are weighed, but, in the end my desire to do it is much stronger.
For me, it is like driving a car as fast as it can go (And, I liked driving fast cars fast), making that curve, shifting down into the correct gear to make that hill, shifting back up on the straight away and feeling exhilarating with the wind blowing and the speed-ah the speed. It is with everything a personal accomplishment. Sometimes we don’t win. Some times we crash!
That is, as you say, human nature and without the challenges of life, what is there left in life?
We may or may not understand their thirst for mountain climbing and they may not have understood my thirst for fast cars, but in the end they are similar. It is a challenge to achieve a personal BEST!
@mckay
Beautiful comment. The similitude you made with fast cars is perfect, we take ourselves to the limits, at any cost.
Thank you.
Oh dear Elio, my prayers to those who died at K2.
Your post is so inspiring, I must say I was or still am one of those who can a be afraid of doing some things. I take risks of course, but I have never thought of doing anything as risky as climbing the K2 and such.
Maybe that is why you are so confident and successful as you have tried doing one of the most dangerous activities that a man could possibly do.
I wish I was like you.
@ Tati
Thank you, I really felt so close to those people…
A terrible and heartbreaking end to this incredible journey climbing the K2.
I am glad you wrote about it.
@ betsy
It’s my little contribution not to forget what happened…
Thank you