Roof of the World!
“The ink-black wedge of the summit pyramid stood out in stark relief, towering over the surrounding ridges. Thrust right into the jet stream, the mountain ripped a visible gash in the 120-knot hurricane, sending forth a plume of ice crystals that trailed to the east like a long silk scarf. As I gazed across the sky at this contrail, it occurred to me that the top of Everest was precisely the same height of the pressurized jet bearing me through the heavens.”
From Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer
It looms 29,035 feet above sea level. At the summit, temperatures dip below -100 degrees Celsius. Exposed skin freezes within seconds. Brain cells diminish rapidly due to extremely low levels of oxygen, causing some climbers to hallucinate as they begin their descent to camp 4 at 26,000 feet, even with the use of bottled oxygen.
Still, thousands flock to its foot every spring climbing season. Since the first documented summit of Mt. Everest in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal, roughly 3,000 ascents have taken place. Of that total, more than 200 people have perished on the upper ridges of the mountain,
The mystique of reaching earth’s highest point and the challenges it presents consume those who trek to the mountain’s flanks and peer longingly up at the snow-encrusted top. Most people don’t climb Everest just to boast to friends and colleagues that they did it. Most are experienced climbers who simply cannot shrug away the climbing bug. And for those who do make the summit and return home, the experience is nothing short of spiritual.
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