#8 - Mountains
Doing some reflection on choices and decision making recently.
Here’s another true story I feel might resonate. And if not, give you some entertainment at least!
Calculations
Adventure has always been part of how I enjoy the world. When the chance to climb Everest Base Camp came up in 2019 (pre-kids, of course!) my partner and I decided to give it a crack.
Planning was half the fun. Banking brain kicked in: spreadsheets, risk analysis, gear lists, insurance calculations. And then there was the explorer in me who shrugged and thought, “Whatever happens, happens.” That’s fun too, sometimes.
We arrived during shoulder season to save costs and reduce congestion, haggled for four hours to settle on a local guide, and on a whim bought last-minute altitude hiking insurance “just in case.”
Could we have researched more? Probably. Could we have found a better deal? Also possible. But you can’t climb a mountain thinking about climbing a mountain.
One does not simply spreadsheet their way to clarity… Decisions are made, and a level of trust in ourselves, knowing when is “enough”, is super important.
Commitment?
The weather puppeteers decided shoulder season would be perfect for dragging out monsoon season. We swapped the usual air plane route for a cheaper jeep ride and a supposed 60km “flat” trek over three days with 10kg on our backs.
Turns out, it was anything but flat. Even before stepping foot on the hills, our jeep bogged multiple times. Landslides. Flying rocks. Flooding. A river crossing in bare feet. And the heat? Sticky humid. Not the dry cold we planned for (and prefer!).
Delays forced us to rejig the schedule, push harder to stay on target, and shorten rest breaks. All to stick to the plan and our visa deadlines. All part of the adventure, right?
The journey wasn’t just revealing majestic mountains. My knees began to buckle from old injuries. My partner’s breathing started to spike.
Sometimes we confuse perseverance with wisdom, and difficult decisions are made with bias.
No Contest
Day 4, heavy rains soaked through our ponchos and packs. We countered my partner’s rising temperature with meds, her heart rate and rapid breath with garlic soup and rest. I had painkillers for my swollen knees. The alarm bells were ringing.
Day 5: symptoms ringing louder. Day 6: a full-day of planned rest in response. Day 7: a “short” 90-minute trek turned into six hours. We arrived at our homestay late afternoon. My partner coughed up blood.
Oh.
No more competing. Health wins.
A sliver of wifi allowed me to call for a helicopter evac. Weather delayed it by another day. 48 hours until rescue. An ambulance met us at the tarmac and rushed us to intensive care. Diagnosis: “serious bacterial infection”, acute mountain sickness, pneumonia.
I’m also really grateful they took me with her, because I would not have made it down the mountain with my knees in their condition.
We were humbled.
With a week in hospital and a $15,000 invoice, you can say that last-minute $290 insurance decision effectively won us a Himalayan trek experience, hospital accommodation, plus a helicopter ride!
Musings:
We never actually saw Mt. Everest. The weather never cleared for us, and maybe that was one of the lessons.
Hindsight, a teacher that arrives on time.
The best decisions aren’t always the smartest ones on paper, but the ones that keep us human and humble(and of course alive enough to try again).Maybe confidence doesn’t always come from control.
It’s knowing we can adapt, choose again, and keep going, even when things just do not go to plan.
Our “private jeep” carried 10 people. Driver was nearly knocked out by flying rocks.
Not the climb we expected
Great coaching metaphor!
3 days before we left, we had joked ‘imagine being air lifted off…’
