Top of the World

It's summit week on Mt. Everest. 

There is a window - usually from around May 10-20th where people can climb to the top of Everest. The weather the rest of the year makes it almost impossible. 

For those who don't read for content, Everest is one of those OCD moments I have had where I just had / have inundated myself with books, documentaries, movies - blah blah blah. 

Even in the 90s (1990s, that is) the mountain and the climbs were a bit of mystery. First, second and third hand accounts of things that went on up there. 

This last five years or so gives us drones, live streaming, live podcasts, tracking websites......the works. 

In theory, for the interested parties, this would be great. 

For me - it's left me a little disinterested. 

The real life / real time, stories have left me a little cold. 

Sure, to climb Everest you have to have bravado or at least balls of steel. But it's different on the page than it is with someone's daily updates that get fed your way. It is just self-aggrandizing. I'd say "in the worst way", but that kind of what self-aggrandizing. 

Even their humble moments seem faux-humble. To me, when they try to seem more human, they just seem like bad actors. 

The climb is always going to be a challenge. But I'm tired of everyone labeling themselves:  Australia's first women with MS to climb; the UK's first deaf male. I mean, they're about to get into Blood Types and GPAs in a season or two. Everyone needs "an angle" when summiting the highest peak on the globe doesn't seem to be enough. 

The line of people you see in the title image are on their way to summit. 500. Plus the same amount of Sherpas helping most of those non-Sherpas. 

I will say, for all I know about the summit and the back down, it seems to be single-file. And I hear about climbers passing each other on the descent, but I've never actually seen two lines. And in theory, they should be just as populated - save for the half to one dozen who are going to remain on the mountain forever after dying there. 

The Hilary Step isn't that large and it doesn't seem to have one up / one down staircases. 

So yes, I've been low-key tracking this for weeks - as it takes weeks to acclimatize at base camp - but this might be it for me. I unofficially don't seem to care anymore. I probably won't finish this year's group to see what happens, but I have the right to change my mind. I just doubt I will. 

Song by: the Carpenters