I watched the little map and flight report in my seat front monitor and noticed a couple of things. I looked out the window when we reached 10,000 feet and still could see houses (but no longer cars), but they sure seemed pretty far down. At 14,000 feet, I really noticed the temperature really starting to decrease quicker and the cloud cover was picking up.
At 16,318 feet, we were cruising at 510 mph, but as a forecast of things to come, the air temperature had dropped to 10 degree F. This is about the altitude of the peak of Point Lenana (plus 15 feet) we will be summiting at sunrise --- brrr! I also opened up my window shade and looked out to see what I might see on summit day and it was pretty incredible --- we were several thousand feet above the cloud layer and could see for miles and miles.Of all the things I am most apprehensive about with the Climb, it’s the altitude and the cold that cause me the most concern.
But no doubt this Climb is about going on an adventure and experiencing a new edge of life – pushing myself to a place I’ve never been before. On my flight to London, I watched “The Way” with Martin Sheen playing a 65-year old man walking the 800 km Camino de Santiago in the Pyrennes. In the movie he encounters a Spanish woman and asks her if she had ever taken this national pilgrimage, and she said:
“When I was young, I was too busy.
When I was older, I was too tired.”
What a great reminder this serves that life in the 40’s (very late as in 49) and 50’s is the perfect season of life to do things I’ve never done before…like climb a 16,000 foot mountain in 10 degree weather.
