“Good people might fall again and again, but they always get
up." ~ Proverbs 24:16
Having bagged the highest peaks on
six continents, Alison had but one to go - the BIG one. She dreamed of climbing Mount Everest, the
highest mountain on earth at 8,850M.
She was well aware of the dangers of high-altitude
mountaineering. By the end of the 2011
climbing season, Everest had claimed 236 lives most due to selfish ambition, altitude
sickness . . . and bad luck! It still grips
most of their corpses.
She prepared for anything to go wrong - an oxygen tank
malfunction, her tent blown away by wind, dropping a piece of equipment that couldn’t
be retrieved. Any of those could end her
quest.
Weather conditions were abominable and deteriorating
quickly. Visibility had plunged; massive
winds were blowing snow UP the mountain.
Allison was growing weary – already having lost more than 10% of her
pre-climb body weight. Lonely and afraid
after two months on the mountain, she and her teammates were just a few hundred
feet from the summit when they were forced to turn back. They had no choice! Their adventure would not end at the top of
the world.
Everest kept another dark secret - most deaths occurred
while descending the mountain. Extreme temperatures caused Allison’s regulator
to freeze on the way down so she travelled for three hours to the camp
immediately below the summit sans oxygen; barely able to stand during the last
30 minutes to safety. She was one of the
fortunate ones – 5 others hadn’t been so lucky today. Allison didn't make it to Everest’s peak, but she
made it back alive!
Later she’d tell
friends that she’d conquer the brutal ‘Himalayan Beast’ someday because “it
had stopped growing.” She, on the other
hand, would learn from her mistakes.
And she did . . .
eight years later. Crossing deep chasms
on rickety ladders, navigating bus-sized ice blocks that moved on average 4
feet per day, Allison overcame the deep anxiety that had forced them to back
years before. After learning from the
harsh realities of her first trek, she knew what it took to continue the climb
in dangerous conditions.
Failure can be a
blessing. It can build confidence and
boost creativity. When uncertainties and
mishaps arise, we need to be able to weather the storms if we’re going to enjoy
the kind of view God prepared for us at the top of the world.
Lord, give me faith in myself. Not only on the days when I am winning and
nothing seems impossible, but on days when I wonder if I am brave enough, smart
enough, strong enough. Don't let me
quit, not ever. Amen
