Climbing Mount Everest

It's been a while since I lost the feeling in my legs but right now I can’t feel any parts of my body except my face. I’m half buried in snow and I’m almost 29 000 feet above sea level. I’m dying but happy at the same time. Less than half an hour ago I was on the top of the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest.

My group of four other climbers and I came up to the last camp, camp four, late at the 21st of April 1999 and after one night at the camp it was time for me to make my decision. The meteorologist told us that there was a storm nearby that probably could change direction and hit the mountain. The other climbers in my group didn’t want to take the risk of getting stuck on Mount Everest during a storm so they decided to stay at the camp and then walk down again but i decided to try.

The weather the next morning was beautiful. Not a cloud as far as my eyes could see and almost no wind at all. I took the chance to be one of the few persons that have been at the top of Mount Everest. I started to climb the last 750 feet but it wasn’t easy. Even if it was an excellent climbing weather it was cold and hard to climb because there were deep cloves and ravines. I had to use almost all my energy and oxygen to get up but I made it. I was now standing 29 029 feet up in the air. But then I saw it.

Big black clouds heading towards the mountain and the happiness of being one of the few humans standing at the top of Mount Everest disappeared. I was frightened and felt hopeless. I ran, as fast as I could, down the mountain but it was hard. I found something that could work as a shelter during the storm so I decided to stop and wait and hope for the best.

That’s what I’m doing right now. The wind whips my naked face and I can’t do anything about it. It’s a weird feeling to be defenseless and left alone on a mountain. I’m thinking on my family. My wife and two daughters. The little ones were so happy when they found out that I planned to climb the mountain. But my wife wasn’t as happy as my daughters. She saw the risk: to die, instead of the reward: to be one of the few humans at the top.

I´m thinking back on my childhood. I used to have blond curly hair, now it´s darker and not as curly anymore. As a kid I was calm and didn’t do so many thing with the other boys in class. When they played at the playground and climbed in trees I just sat by and watched them. I didn’t like adventures and especially not new things. That´s probably why I started to climb. To do the stuff I didn’t do as a child.

I’m thinking of my two daughters again. Julie and Sarah were both very young. Only five and six years old. That’s not an age were you’re supposed to lose your father. I would do anything to turn back the time to before I took the plane to Kathmandu. I wouldn’t cancel the trip but I know exactly what I would say to them.

It´s getting harder and harder to breathe and my vision becomes blurry. I’m probably running out of oxygen because every time I try to breath I hear a wheezing noise. At the same time the storm is getting worse too. I can hear that besides my breathing noise. I can´t feel my face anymore and I´m getting so tired.

Suddenly everything gets black and I can see a light in front of me. My time has come.

Alexander

Alexander är medlem sedan 2015 Alexander har 2 publicerade verk