In the past few days since coming back from Everest Base Camp IÂ’ve been constantly asked what it was like to walk onto the summit so IÂ’ll try to explain it:
In my case, we had been climbing for around five hours in the dark from the South Col, passing most of the climbers that day. This included a climber who had died/was dying and clipped into the rope, requiring every climber passing him to unclip and climb around him. His position and posture symbolized absolute desperation and sadness. He was utterly beyond rescue. My digestive system had begun to shut down after just one night on the col, but I was very healthy relative to others and we ascended in an extremely good time.
After climbing the Hillary step, a short section of steep rock, you start walking towards the summit. At that time (about 4am), the sky was just starting to light up. I stopped to adjust my oxygen mask and turned to the right, noticing the suns rays hitting the atmosphere in such a way you could easily see the curvature of the Earth. Seeing that was probably the most amazing thing I have ever seen. The sight was so breathtaking it was like being slapped in the face. I immediately started crying and so my nose began to run - clogging up my mask.
I tried to yell “it’s beautiful” and started waving my arms at my Sherpa - pointing to the rounded sea of colours stretching across the black sky to our right. I think at that point it finally occurred to me I was about ten meters away from the highest point on Earth. It was the culmination of two months actively climbing on the mountain, a year of physical training, nearly a hundred thousand dollars, and over a decade of dreaming. It was below negative thirty degrees, I couldn’t feel the toes on my right foot, and I was very thirsty and tired. But here I was - mere meters away from the summit.
There is no way to describe the view, no photo that can do it justice. You are so unbelievably high above everything. YouÂ’re surrounded by beauty. Everyone on the summit is trying to wipe tears from their eyes and clear out their masks.
I took out my camera and tried to take pictures, the extreme cold of predawn meant after a couple of photos the battery died. I barely cared at all, the camera seemed so utterly pointless and useless to try and capture the view, the feeling. I was so completely overcome with emotion at the summit that I couldnÂ’t really feel anything.
We got to the summit just as a kaleidoscope of colors danced across the atmosphere in a circular glow, five of us from my expedition sat on the summit alone to watch dawn break across the world on the 21st of May.
IÂ’ve thought a lot how to summarize the feeling, and the best I can do is say that if there is a god, then itÂ’s like looking upon his face.
