One Last Time

20 December to 25 December 2017

I’ve written this blog post nine or ten times in my head. And once I’d got something down on screen, I’ve redrafted it at least half a dozen times.

In the 6 days that it covers, I climbed a mountain, walked back from Base Camp, self diagnosed a chest infection, celebrated Christmas with our team and took off from one of the most remarkable (read it terrifying) airports in the world.

So much material and yet, here I was one month later, sitting in a pub on Haight Street in San Francisco drinking a cider and still pulling this post together. And then sitting in a remarkable old school hotel bar in Chicago adding the finishing touches.

So why was I avoiding writing about the next bit of that epic journey.

I was sad it was over. Like somehow writing this post would migrate this great adventure to simple digital images and “a story about that time…..”

So I’ve been sifting through the memories of those last 6 days.

And in the search, I kept thinking about Petra. July 2010. As we left the site after a remarkable but long and hot day of walking, my friend said to me “Take a look behind you, you may never be here again.”

Look behind you. You may never be here again.

I can only guess at what I would have missed if I hadn’t applied this advice regularly. Sunsets. The organ in a church. The painting that hangs across from the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. The magnificence of the rocks in Petra.

And that final view up the Everest Valley.

The last four days trekking back from Base Camp is relatively fast. The day after reaching Base Camp, we woke early to climb Kala Pattar. We then return to the lodge, rest for an hour or so and then start the descent to Lukla along the same path that had taken us to Base Camp. It’s the same path but in half the time.

Normally as you head downhill from altitude, it gets easier but the first two days for me were clouded by a minor chest infection from the dust and the cold.

There are a few memories of the last few days that were cemented: an afternoon in the sun in Deboche, sick team mates, the clouds in Namche.

But the image attached to this post, it will stay with me. Truth be told, it is one of my favourites in the thirteen days trekking to and from base camp. And mostly because of how it came about.

We were walking so fast, the scenery was almost blurred. So I slowed down. I looked behind me. Then I stopped and I soaked in that view of the valley.

One last time.

Always look behind you. You may never be here again.

Get Lost. Stay Curious.