Mount Everest. 29,029 feet. The highest mountain in the world. Why would a girl living in Logan Utah want to travel over 7,000 miles, risk altitude sickness, cold, discomfort, aches and pains to climb to Everest Base Camp? Many people think I'm crazy to have a dream like this. And maybe I am. Jon Krakauer, mountaineer and author of the the book Into Thin Air said, "Everest has always been a magnet for kooks, publicity seekers, hopeless romantics and others with a shaky hold on reality." Wow. I'm hoping that I only fit into the hopeless romantic category, but some may think otherwise. But I think that my draw to Everest is best described by the quote from George Mallory who said, when asked why he wanted to climb Everest, "Because its there."
Well...that's how it started out anyway.
For the last 15 or so years I've had this strange desire to hike to Everest Base Camp. I love exercise, I love anything that challenges me physically, I love traveling to new places and learning about the history, I love the mountains, I love the feeling of accomplishing something that's hard and pushes you out of your comfort zone. Naturally, climbing to EBC is the perfect adventure. But my journey to Everest has turned into something more than just these things. It's become not only a physical journey, but an emotional and spiritual one as well. I'm writing this so that I can remember the events that led me here, the lessons I've learned, and understand how this and other mountains in my life have changed me into the person that I am.
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