Thanks for Listening

Since returning, I’ve been asked many times what lesson I gathered from this high-altitude escapade. The answer isn’t what you might expect.

It lies not on the mountain, but in the digital realm of this blog, and the remarkable community that converged here during our rocky isolation.  It’s such a surprise.

Keep in mind that while we climbers were the few who got to experience the mountain firsthand, we were the only ones who couldn’t experience this blog. The nearest computer was several days’ hike away. My “blogging” consisted of speaking into a tempermental phone from a field of rocks in a faraway land. I frankly doubted whether anyone could hear me on the other end, and if they could, whether anyone was listening other than my parents and girlfriend.

Then we tromp back to civilization and log on at an Internet cafe, and my word, everyone’s been listening, hundreds of people every day. They’re not just my people, but the co-workers of my fellow climbers, friends of my brother-in-law’s parents, and others that emerged from who-knows-where. And it’s not just a polite interest. They cared about our chances of making the summit and were keenly interested in how I’m doing, after turning back from the summit 1,600 feet shy of the goal. 

My favorite response is from the second-grade students of my fellow climber Louise Cooper, a teacher in Los Angeles. She sent a note yesterday that the tykes were glad to see her but inquired with concern about me, a person they had never met or even seen. They made such comments as, “at least he tried; he can always try again; I know when I’m feeling sick I just want to go to bed; and, he was brave to turn back! “

To have something vital to share, like the tale of this climb, and to learn that many people – some you don’t even know, and all over the country – are following every word, well, it just doesn’t get any better than that. Thanks for being here.