by Daniel Jungen - Fall 2018
Many have read, watched or heard stories of brave and venturous mountaineers climbing the world’s highest peaks. Stories of great achievements and success but also hardship, tragedy and death. Glory and failure, fame and disaster often lay close to each other but what draws them all is the call for adventure, a yearning to achieve the impossible and to go beyond the limits, personal and universal.
The result are stories too impressive to forget, jaw-dropping tales and legends born in and formed by the harsh but beautiful outdoors. But never, while hearing many of these stories, did it cross my mind that one day I would follow their footsteps. Yet, somewhere deep down has always slumbered the desire to climb tall mountains, though that yearning hasn't reached the surface yet.
But life tends to take its unique turns. So one day, not too long ago, my younger brother started talking about his plans to go mountaineering in either the Andes or the Himalayas. He was especially taken by a peak called Mount Alpamayo, located in the Peruvian Andes and said to be the ‘most beautiful mountain in the world’ (of course, as a Swiss I strongly disapprove of such labelling, because if there were to be awarded such a title, it belongs to the Swiss Matterhorn).
Nevertheless, the idea sounded enthralling, bold and exciting: exactly the right thing for my enthusiastic brother and his passion for high and demanding peaks. But not once did it cross my mind to join them. Too expensive and complicated the venture, too inexperienced and fearful I was.
Besides that, I had just gotten my ‘self-employed’ status approved, meaning I now had access to my pension funds savings after one year of travelling and almost no income. And believe me, it felt good to be liquid again, to have ‘Plata’ on hand, not having to worry about finances anymore. There was no way I’d spend half of it on an expedition on the other side of the world - and that only two weeks after the funds had been wired to my account.
But, for whatever reason, the subtile feeling of missing out kept coming back to me again and again. First, I tried to shake it off but wasn’t exactly successful. Then, I did my best to reason it away and kept telling myself I couldn’t afford it. Nevertheless, slowly but steadily the thought began taking roots in my heart and mind and my perspective gradually shifted from ‘impossible’ to ‘not wise’ to ‘possible realizable’.
A few weeks into this process a realization hit me: “Maybe this is an opportunity I won’t get again for a very long time”. And all of a sudden my eyes got opened up and I saw that this was my chance, right place right time, for an unforgettable adventure. Yes, it still felt crazy, mad, mindless, but I somehow knew it was the right thing to do. I couldn’t explain why and my rational mind couldn’t come up with a logical explanation no matter how hard it tried. But a peace deep down whispered to me, against all rational, that this is the way to go.
So, days later I found myself in front of my computer, heart racing and hands sweaty, as I moved the cursor over the ‘send’ button. The screen in front of me displayed the filled out application for the Alpamayo and Huascaran expedition.
During the last days I have wrestled with this decision again and again, debated and argued with myself. Do I have enough mountaineering experience for such a tour? Am I mentally strong enough? How will my body react to these heights? Is the expedition worth such a sum of money?
But in the end I had to admit: insecurity and risk will always remain, no matter how often I think things through. One thing I could say for sure though: one day I would regret it if I didn't dare.
With at least this certainty in my heart, I took a deep breathe and hit the ‘send’ button *click*.
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