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 Mt. Everest 2004: Carlos Pauner | ||||||
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Maklau, K2, Kangchenjunga Summiter Carlos Pauner returns to Everest to attempt without oxygen! UNDER THE SHADOW OF EVEREST Little by little we are getting closer. We have slept today in Thyangboche, a place where one of the most famous monasteries of Nepal is located. It is a privilege to wake up in the morning and watch through a window, a solid and strong structure of this impressive construction on one side and on the other, the head of Everest, lurking behind the wall of Lhotse. It is really an unmistakable silhouette. A huge rocky pyramid, with a big view of the cloud that is always surrounding its summit. We are in the middle of the Sherpa territory and it is easy to understand how these landscapes have shaped the behavior of these people. There they are, carrying dozens of kilos on their backs and smiling, while the go with their rhythm, calm, constant, monotonous. I also see some monks running, coming from the monastery, going up to a grassy hill to have a curious festive ceremony. Above all of us, tourists, climbers, monks and local workers, majestic and solemn, rises Chomolungma or Everest as we westerners know it. Anyway, the Goddess Mother of Earth, as everybody agrees. Everything is done under its gaze and looking at its dimensions, it is not hard to believe that that pointy end swept by the wind is the summit of the world, the highest point of the Earth. I can't stop thinking how we dare to climb on such a singular point of the planet. We all have, all of us, too much arrogance, to want to put our mortal feet in such an especial place, so sacred to a lot of people. Our vanity and our will to know if we are able to make it, will guide our steps to that place, the kingdom of the winds. By now, I lower my head and keep walking by the dusty roads that lead us to Periche. We have reached 4,000 m of altitude and the air is getting thinner than usual. The steep slopes punish us a little more and nobody can help but thinking in what is left to do to get to that pointy end that looks at us from the highest point. I hope that to approach this mountain with humbleness and with the will to face the challenge, with no artificial help, helps me soften this giant who could give me its hand to guide me to its summit. Without this condition I guess there is nothing we could do. I understand how small and weak a human being can be in front of these mountains, but I also hope that growing little by little, getting more energy day by day, I can be able to step on the summit, up there where I can only put my eyes for now, from almost 5,000 meters below. Anyway, I think that this thinking is not shared by many people around here, because most of them look of a summit for the lowest price, without loosing much sleep for that. All this is a little sad. We gather in our lodge today, under the attentive view of those great mountains and of many others. It is a cold place, but with a especial charm. We are surrounded by sharp edges, stylized needles and little by little, we are introducing ourselves into the world of the high mountain, almost without realizing it, enjoying every moment. Tomorrow will be a hard day, but we will be very close to our objective. We are getting closer. Carlos Translated from Spanish by Jorge Rivera
Dispatches
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