Everest - Why is it so tough?

Everest - Why is it so tough? 05/06/2010

Apr 29 1:30pm

It’s only a few hours since I sent away Tasia, sitting in the sun room writing. Kuran, the lodge service boy came up: “Your friend is here”. I walked into dining room and was shocked to see Jeff, one of my teammates, sitting there! “I’m going home.” Everyone had a tough time at camp 2. Other than going through the same physical pain, Jeff is also torn emotionally. With a sweet wife and two lovely kids at home, Jeff decided it’s more than he can bear anymore. It felt like a joke to me that I’m just sitting here in Pheriche sending away one teammate after another. It’s sad to see another teammate leaving.

In some sense, the serious climb haven’t even started yet (we haven’t even touched Lhotse face yet), but we (and every team) have been quickly loosing climbers to various reasons. Some has said that going through Khumbu ice fall is the ultimate Russian Roulettes game for mountaineers. But here we see a different Russian Roulettes game before we even start climbing. Everest has been so trivialized by various movies, but here I intimately feel it’s a survivor’s game on a daily basis. Everest tests us from all dimensions. We often say, “one step at a time”. Here, each step is hard. There’s a voice trying to tell you “quit” at each step. We need to be resilient in many dimensions, but it’s also a balance between many forces. Some of them you can’t fight against.

Why is Everest so hard?

There are many challenges other than the simple high altitude AMS threat:

Physical Challenge: The approach to Everest is long, the technique required is more complicated than other hiking mountains – climbing through Khumbu ice fall, climbing Lhotse face, climbing Hilary step at extreme high altitude, are all very challenge
Physical Pain: There are so many health hazard along the way, every day you need not only bear the pain of breathing the thin air and any possible AMS symptom such as headache, but also fight against the pain of painful cough, nose stuffed with bloody secretions all the time (we constantly need to clean it, every few minutes, then it’s stuffed again in another minutes), throat irritated by dry air all the time. Your immune system is weakened, any little sickness at sea level is magnified 100 times at altitude. It’s painful to fight health problems at altitude.
Tiredness: Each climbing day is long, you are tired from climbing; the altitude and the uncomfortable camping condition make it hard to sleep; your own cough would interrupt rest also. Tired and unable to sleep!
Demanding schedule: Every climbing day is equivalent to a summit day on other mountains. Every climbing day is alpine start (get up in mid of night and start in dark). You have make so many mini-summit days during the whole climb, it’s exhausting.
Uncomfortable climbing climate: The temperature on glacier alternate between freezing cold and furnace-hot instantly. You can never dress perfect. It’s pain to be tortured by bone-chilling wind one second, then cooked inside 100F furnace the next second.
Fear: The unknown risk from ice fall or avalanche is there all the time, you just don’t know when it happens. The fear feeling deters and weakens a lot of people. Not to say Lhotse face and other hurdles high up on the mountain.
Psychological pressure: Not just “what happens if I fail” kind of pressure from yourself or others, which most climbers have learned deal with after having climbed so many mountains. Here, this is a very demanding mountain. You see other climbers stronger than you, faster than you, the peer pressure from competition can make you doubt your own capability or potential, make you worry about yourself. Here everyone climb their own schedule, some choose to rest more days, some choose to skip certain camps, so we will all end of summit on different dates. How do you feel when you are trying to focus on your summit push while others are celebrating and packing up to go?
Option to quit: The approach to the mountain is long, every step is hard. But it’s not so hard to quit! You can leave on helicopter in a day, you can hike out in two or three days. You can be back in nice hotel in KTM or hometown in just a matter of days. Why suffer from the sickness, pain, fear, cold, risk of AMS and avalanche? You see people around you kept on leaving, and some are actually stronger than you. Should I suffer should I go? Why should I suffer. The easiness to quit may contributed to more quit.
Emotional lure of home: Cozy home, warm family, loved ones are missing you. The expedition is so long. It has been a month already yet we haven’t even started on Lhotse face yet! Summit is still weeks away and you never know the condition this year. It’s a torture to be torn emotionally.
Every step is so hard: There are so many forces against you. You may arrive here with gear missing/forgotten or damaged in transportation. You easily fell sick. Nothing is comfortable here. You don’t sleep well, not enough nutritious food to compensate your big energy expense every day. Weather is never perfect. You felt you not trained enough, you never felt good/strong enough. It’s important to steer negative thoughts away, don’t be overly fixed on cause/condition or the so called “sense”.

It’s important to focus on positive thinking. Yes, there are many forces against you. You need to be resilient! Climbing Everest is 90% mental. True that there are certain forces you can fight against, but don’t give up too easily! Make your best effort, consider all possible alternatives, think thoroughly of your decision. It’s a balance of all forces!

Comments

Julia Magnusson link

05/09/2010 14:05

Hi Lei,

Your blog is great. I hope you're feeling better. I really like this post; you're so clear about the challenges that you and the other climbers face. You are strong and we all think you kick ass. ;) Have a great climb!

Julia

Jon

05/09/2010 15:45

This is really a wonderful post. Like all of your blog entries, it's all so raw, really giving us a sense of what you're experiencing. Thanks so much for sharing with and inspiring us! You're doing awesome, keep going!

Diana

05/09/2010 23:03

Lei -- you are really awesome, and what tremendous spirit you have in light of all of these challenges. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and feelings so we can also experience your climb. You are climbing for all of us! Sending you lots of energy and love -- you can do it!

Dave Lynch

05/10/2010 23:16

Lei - It is so inspirational to read your updates and see you meet challenges that you perhaps could never have imagined. You are there because you have wanted to be and you know you will reach deep inside yourself for the will to go on. Faster and more experienced may leave but few will take away from this journey as much as you! Good luck and enjoy the path!

Steve

05/10/2010 23:21

Go Lei Go!
I'm sorry some of your companions have left. You have the muscle to reach the summit. You also have the mental strength to make it too. See yourself on top and dont let that picture leave you. I hope the cough and the weather will allow for a path for you to take to the top. There is 3000m between you and the top but every foot of that height will fall under your feet and become part of your path in life like every step and challenge of the last 30 years. Adraham Lincon said. "Determine that the thing can and will be done. And you shall find a way." Hugs
Steve

Ted Mayer III

05/11/2010 03:33

Lei, im drooling over the icefall pictures, too bad I couldnt come up there :)

Steve

05/11/2010 13:22

Lei- looking at the pictures the snowcap on the high peaks looks less than in older pictures. Are people stating that there is less snow and ice up high? Hope you are feeling better today
Steve

Tiff

05/20/2010 12:33

You are amazing. I've always told you that you are the toughest woman that I know, and you keep proving this to be the truth. Stay strong and bring back stories and pictures. Can't wait to see you back in Boston!

Steve west

05/24/2010 02:21

Holy shit lei!!!!!!! Yahooooooo!!! Get down safe!!!!!! We celebrate when you are at the bottom. What an amazing feat!!!!! I hope every step to the bottom is safe then let your partying begin!!! Hugs Steve !!!!!

zhimin Shi

05/24/2010 09:10

Dear Lei,

I was so touched in heart when I read your writings. The challenges you are facing have extremely exceeded the normal human's limits in both physically and mentally.
You have been the toughest and strongest woman I've ever met! So glad to hear that you've got recovered from your cough.
Thank you so much for sharing everything with us!

The goal and the dream are very important, just because of them, you have been in Everst now!
But the life is very precious too. Only with life, you can try again and again and again to reach your dream!
We always say in Chinese "留着青山在，不怕没柴烧 (Keep Aoyama in, there is hope)"

Please make the wise decision based on the actual conditions on both your health and the weather there.
People's quit or leaving this time do not mean they "giveup" their dream, just at current conditions, they are not ready yet.

It seems that the conditions there have been much much tougher than you had expected and prepared both physically and mentally?
I just like to tell you that no matter what decision you will make during your rest of journey, we will be with you and can fully understand and support you.
I know you will fullfill your dream in one day!!!

Take well care of yourself first!

--Zhimin

Nancy and Mark Theune

05/24/2010 10:07

WELL DONE LEI!!! We knew you could do it. Please stay safe the rest of the way.

Marjorie Pannell

05/24/2010 11:42

Congratulations! I can only imagine, though following IMG site and your blog keenly, the difficulties of this adventure. I wish you a safe journey home.

Jian

05/25/2010 22:49

Congrats! You are so awesome and inspiring. Your achievement indeed encourages many people to get up the challenge. I am so proud of you as an alumni.

Take good care of yourself!

Jay Bench link

05/26/2010 00:04

Lei,
I understand you have summited and are now on your way down. THAT'S AWESOME!! Congratulations. You are and will become an inspiration to many to not only dream big, but chase the dreams as well. You go girl!!

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