Record Breaking on Everest
By Marshall Thompson
The Eco Everest Expedition is full of record-breaking activities. First off, Apa is going for a new world record with 20 Everest summits. But there’s more. Arjun is attempting to be the youngest Indian to climb Mount Everest at age 16. If he’s successful he will either be the second youngest or the third youngest anywhere to climb Mount Everest. Cleo is attempting to be the first North American woman to climb Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. She’s also planning a double header by hitting Lhotse, a neighboring peak, also without supplemental oxygen.
Unlike Apa and Arjun, however, Cleo has competition. There’s another woman at base camp who is going for the record.
Carina Raiha, with the Peak Freak Expedition, is attempting to be the first Finnish woman to climb Mount Everest. I’ve talked with Carina and she quit her job and has been training for a year for this. Now she gets to base camp and there’s a usurper. It must be frustrating.
It’s also deadly. Sometimes it’s easy to think of climbing Mount Everest like a sport. But it’s not. Nobody dies in the NBA playoffs. Football players don’t have closed casket funerals. Mountaineers do. As an observer here at base camp, I get sick to my stomach every time I hear about these record-breaking competitions.
I asked Apa yesterday if he was worried about breaking his own record. He said absolutely not. He’s not interested in records.
Fair enough, I said. But what about the people who come after you. Are you worried about someone trying to break your record and getting hurt or dying.
Apa responded simply and emphatically: They shouldn’t do that.
My heart and prayers go out to Cleo and Carina. My hope is that when it comes down it to it, they’ll think like Apa and do only what they should do.
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