Aaron Smith

April 14^th, 2008

English 102

Mountain Climbing Community

There is a feeling that comes to those who make the climb to the peak of a mountain that is hardly felt elsewhere. It is a feeling that surpasses almost all others. It can only be felt after an intense struggle, one that requires the individual to push past what he or she previously thought was possible. This experience requires one to look deep inside his or her self and come up with strength that appears to convert itself from intense fatigue. This euphoric elation can only be described as perfect satisfaction. The path to euphoria is anything but easy. It is a fight against mother earth. It is truly 'Man vs. Wild'. It requires teamwork and endurance. Perhaps even more importantly it requires a sacred bond of trust, shared not only between other climbers, but between man and mountain. While the forces of gravity and exhaustion attempt to keep the climber at bay, the climber must bear back with one reply, “Do your worst”.

The mountain climbing community attracts people who seek out this absolutely auspicious sense of accomplishment. It also attracts those who seek to test themselves, both physically and mentally. Waking up at three a.m. after carbohydrate-loading on pasta the night before, driving to the trail head through darkness and uncertainty, and donning a heavy ruck full of precious survival equipment, has its own romance about it. Its that feeling that one gets, driving through darkness, no one talking, entranced in contemplation of what the days journey will bring, glancing at each other looking for signs of weakness or even leadership, slowly building the courage that each knows he or she will need, that sparks the initial climbing experience. Few instances in the average person's day require he or she to gather this kind of strength, which, perhaps, is what makes it feel so euphoric once its gathered.

Once the team embarks down the trail head, uncertainty is most potent. The climber's body has not yet warmed up to the idea of an eight hour up-hill hike. As the climber ascends the mountain, the vegetation that impends the breathtaking views thins out. One by one, magnificent views appear to the warriors, raising their morale, fatigue being anesthetized by adrenaline and increased seratonin levels in the brain. Eventually, the noble climbers break the plane of timber line, where vegetation no longer has the oxygen available to grow and survive, and the peak is revealed. It is at this moment that one can literally see his or her goal manifest it self. It provokes feelings of resentment, that though he or she has hiked for several hours, they are still a fair ways from the top. It is also at this moment that he or she must decide to keep carrying on, internally repeating the old hiker's saying, “one foot in front of the other”. Crossing fresh water springs and scampering through lush boulder fields only fuels the hikers with a controlled rage and passion, driving ever closer to the objective. False peak after false peak, the climbers maintain a slow but steady pace, keeping in mind that slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

Than, after a long, arduous journey, the hikers are rewarded as the top of the mountain reveals itself just meters away. The climbers no longer feel pain, just utter decisiveness and determination. The slow methodical check of each step, so as to protect themselves from injury, disappears and now, only raw shows of strength remain evident. The peak only feet away, many climbers find themselves stopping to admire the path they took to the top, with the knowledge that the days journey was not in vain, as their objective is seconds away from being reached. They turn towards the top and truck on. Soon, stone structures resembling forts made by children, made by previous climbers as protection from the elements, appear. They reach the peak and admire the panorama of mountains and clouds that now surrounds them. They have worked all day and have been rewarded with breathtaking views and that ever fleeting euphoric elation that sends shivers down spines. At that moment, the hiker's euphoria cancels out any stress pertaining to whatever toils may arise on the descending journey. They are in their own world, one of absolute satisfaction. The harder the journey, the more euphoria is rewarded.

It was the late Franklin Delano Roosevelt who stated ever so wisely that, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out where the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with dust and sweat and blood. At best, he knows the triumph of high achievement; if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” This is what drives hikers to commit themselves to the sport because only with commitment can he or she succeed.