Himalayan mountaineering expeditions bring together groups of very special and remarkable individuals. Eccentric at times, hard headed at best. Mountaineers are however a very rare breed, we share an unstrained and effortless love for the mountains. The passion which feeds our determination few can comprehend. We experience and relish a world which most will never even see.
Everyone climbs for a different reason. However, whatever your agenda after a while what was once a hobby becomes a way of life. Mountains give us reason, a formidable challenge, maybe a form of escape from a hectic and troubled life. For a few weeks we lose the sense of time and embark on an epic adventure to places powerful and harsh enough to undermine our sense of self importance.
Himalayan climbing is cruel, very serious and not for the faint hearted. The time spent on such expeditions is far from comfortable. Mountaineers have to endure bitter cold, exhaustion, parched lips and most of all they have to battle the effects of altitude which makes any effort inhuman. Nothing is painless, the altitude slowly nibbles at your soul and consumes you from within. Climbing a high mountain is a humiliating experience, it forces us to overcome our fears and weaknesses and find the strength and courage to push ourself to the limit and then a step beyond.
A successful expedition is comparable to a complex symphony executed by a professional and dedicated orchestra. So many things have to come together in perfect synchrony in order for summit day to be even possible and more importantly a safe success.
It's one o'clock in the morning, it's pitch dark, the cold burns your nostrils, you haven't slept at all. The altitude has taken it's toll, you are weak and debilitated and your only guarantee for the day is a gruelling, back splitting climb in the harshest conditions imaginable. For the multitude this might seem a brutal punishment yet for the climber is the culmination of his dream.
As you leave the summit and clamber down what seems to be an endless descent, everything hurts, and what doesn't hurt doesn't work. Your legs are heavy, you are unsteady on your feet, what drives you on is sheer determination. This is a very dangerous time, a race for survival. With the summit reached some of the driving force is lost. A weary feeling clouds our judgement and it is easy to succumb to exhaustion, often a lethal mistake which has claimed many lives. You finally reach your tent and collapse into your sleeping bag. You are half dead but glowing inside. A satisfaction incomparable to anything you have felt before.
Mountaineering is not for everyone, it might be enticing for many but it will only make sense to those with the right frame of mind, a bullet proof soul and maybe a sprinkle of insanity.