Pumped arms. Sketchy gear placement. Relying on a nine and a half millimeter rope to save your life in case of a fall. Your face cooking in the hot summer sun as sweat drips down your brow. Success is just one move away. You reach, performing a two handed dyno. The chalk cakes your hand as you desperately try to grab on to that bomber hold. Failure. You don’t reach high enough and your hands slip and putting you in a free fall, as you hold your breath. Six meters of weightlessness followed by an enormous jerk between your legs. Luckily, the gear holds and you are still alive, scratched up and able to climb again. Stepping out of your comfort zone not only makes you a stronger person, but makes life a little bit easier.
It all started when I was three. My father took me to the top of Sugar Loaf, the icon of my hometown, Winona, Minnesota. This rock sits on top of a bluff, overlooking the east side of the city. Looking at it, all I think about is 75 feet of pure, exposed rock climbing. After my first ascent, I was hooked; wanting to climb the same route over and over. This I did for a solid three months, conquering this rock face at least four times a week. My skills improved drastically and my father felt that it was time for me to step out of my comfort zone. We hopped in the car and set off in a southeastern trajectory to Baraboo, Wisconsin. Upon arrival, my father grabbed his pack full of gear. I, on the other hand, grabbed my pathetic, uncomfortable thirty dollar harness and expensive pair of climbing shoes and we set off to the east side of the lake. In my opinion, walking into a climb can be just as hard as the climbing itself. I was pooped by the time I reached the base of the rock, climbing over s...
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... rock cracking as the nut forms to the rock. No worries though. The nut holds and we are able to continue our rappel down to the bottom. Upon arrival, I let out a huge sigh and realize that I, once again, stepped out of my comfort zone and did something that tested both my physical and mental strength.
After every climb, I look back and think of all the things that could have gone wrong. I realize that any slight slip could have resulted in complete failure and ultimately death, which personally, I am not comfortable thinking about at such a young age. It is when we step out of that comfort zone and experience something in life we potentially could have missed, we undergo the greatest times of our lives, making us stronger, well rounded people. Like my father always told me, “A fall is not a fall unless you run out of adrenaline before you run out of rope.”
In the story “Sharon Wood: No Limits,” by Sharon Wood, the author describes Woods experience on Mount Everest. In the story Wood overcomes many obstacles to achieve her goal. She had to handle the extreme cold weather along with the heavy bags they had to carry. Due to lack of oxygen they also needed to carry oxygen tanks with themselves. It requires a lot of strength and determination to climb one of the tallest mountains in the world. Sharon Wood was an inspirational, and discipline woman. Finally, only Wood and her climbing partner, Dwayne Congdon, made it to the top. Rest of the team did not have enough ability to make it to the top. After all the struggle Wood went through; she had finally reached the top of Mount Everest. This was
Motivation, anxiety and the importance of group dynamic and roles are huge aspects to any success story, for people to succeed them need to realize that they cannot do it alone and it is always a journey. As portrayed in Into Thin Air, having anxiety to climb the largest Mountain in the world would be present for anyone who decides to take on that challenge, it is something we all go through and very normal in a lot of performance task. We need people to support us, and motivate, and these come in form of coaches and parents, we can’t just get to where we want to be on our own. A lot of things can get in our way of succeeding but if we continue to strive and do the best to our abilities then we have succeed.
Cross country runners spend weeks to months training for that one moment, the moment they will lean across the finish line. Crossing the finish line only lasts for only a split second, but the impact is significant. People often ask why, why spend so much time training for that one moment? Well for me it’s simple. The feeling I have when I cross that finish line is like no other I’ve ever had; it is a unique combination of pride, pain, relief, and an indescribable sense of accomplishment. After reading Into Thin Air, I realized how similar climbing a mountain actually is to running a race. Climbers, just like runners, spend months training for those few glorious minutes on top.
I as well as many people don’t understand the symbolism of the the hangman’s knot or the history behind its uses. I have always came to understand that it was an offensive knot to others because of the lynchings going on during slavery time period. Even today the hangman’s knot still plays a role in modern hate crime acts; However the hangman’s knot dates back to as early as the 16th century. The brutality portrayed by the knot brings out many feelings among many different people, And with that causes many acts of violence and rage toward others. The hangman’s knot, or also known as noose is a hard subject for many African Americans to talk about or discuss. Because at the time of these crimes the African American race was looked down upon. They were treated like animals and were never given the least bit of respect, they were tortured, beaten, and then hanged. I can agree that if this happened to my ancestors I would be offended by the many things that used to happen, and the symbols that are used in hate crimes today.
Climbing makes for a difficult expedition, you need to give up the wrappers when you was ascending. You need to give up the heavy things, you need to give up your wrappers, and you need to give yourselves. Sometimes we need to give up our lives to climb the mount Everest. According to snow storm, the energy, the oxygen and the people who desired prove themselves the spring’s 96s expedition to mountain Everest was destined to be the most tragic.
My last trip to the summit was a journey filled with danger and hardships. The group of people that I was to lead up Everest included Doug Hansen, Sandy Pittman, Jon Krakauer, and Beck Weathers. Doug Hansen had attempted the summit on a guided expedition by me a year earlier, but we had to turn back. All and all the beginning of this trip was similar to many of my other commercial expeditions. We started at Kathmandu and worked our way to Phakding, where I picked up my crew of Sherpas. The Sherpas are very important to our expedition, so I told the team to appreciate their hard work. We then continued to climb until we stopped at Lobuje. This overcrowded village was disgusting and caused many of my clients to become ill....
I have always been inspired by the stories of mountaineers. Their passion and zeal drives them to push themselves through worsening conditions, just so that they can fulfill their goal of summiting a peak. I believe life is all about pushing oneself beyond the limits, getting out of the comfort zone and going an extra mile to achieve what one desires in life.
I am adventurous. No I don't sky dive, wrestle crocodiles, or swim with sharks, but when asked by a group of friends to go cliff diving last summer, my best response was, “Sounds like fun!” I had never been afraid of heights yet have never experienced the thrill of cliff diving. All I could ask myself was, “What could go wrong?”
I almost fell off a cliff on the side of a mountain. I was in Pitkin, Colorado, on a camping trip during the summer of 2009. The trees were green, the air was fresh so were the lakes, rivers, and ponds were stocked with fish and wildlife was everywhere. Usually, on these camping trips, I would be accompanied by a large number of people. However, this time, it was just my parents, my three brothers, and my two sisters. I was almost 12 years old at the time and having three older brothers made me very competitive. Naturally, when my family decided to climb one of the mountain’s which were around us, I wanted to be the first one to reach its peak.
...ove the ground, I yanked down on the parachute control straps with all of my strength. The parachute got more air, and I slowed, almost to a standstill, and gently touched the ground. As my feet touched the Earth, I went into my roll and then stood back up. No broken bones or bruises.
It’s a work out on every bone is your body. The first day back on the mountain It doesn’t feel like much, the next day as soon as you wake up it feels like you are super sick you have a headache, your coughing, and every bone hurts just to move. But no matter how big of wreck I get in what ever happens to me I will always want to go. For me there is no better feeling in the world the sound of nature. On a certain tree trail about half through I stop you can hear anything the only thing you can see are trees covered in snow it’s the most beautiful thing I can ever see. I see some people on the mountain they are handicapped yet they still manage to go they have certain bikes and people following them making sure they are safe. So no matter what is going on going to the mountain isn’t just a sport its something they love todo they don’t get paid for it they have to pay for
My first time rock climbing, I stared at the wall for six minutes of eternity. I couldn’t stop the tangled knot of thoughts that yanked at my shaking legs (abortabortabort), or my weak hands (you’re crazy, you’re not as good as everyone else; gogogogo). I made eye contact with my belayer and then I made the first jump for a hold. Missing it, I swung out from the rock face in a wide arc like a lost spider. Weighed down by self-doubt and a misplaced sense of achievement (reaching the top) I missed the point of this first excursion: to learn the art of outdoor climbing, which has more nuances than what most people assume.
jumping, pushing and head-banging. In all this chaos I suddenly felt out of breath, we all clambered out of the pit and onto the steps. One of my friends kept asking me if I was OK and I said that I felt really out of breath and had a sharp pain in my chest. We came to the conclusion that I had probably cracked a rib.
Mount Everest, the world’s highest point at 29,035 feet, is a special trophy among high altitude mountaineers. Standing atop the world’s highest point a hypoxic climber clad in a fluorescent down suit is above everything else on the planet, for a moment that individual can reach farther into the sky than any other. Arms raised in a victorious salute, a climber feels like they have conquered something that few others ever have, and justifiably so. The summit is usually the final fruition of months, sometimes years of planning, weeks of travel and acclimatization, and days of endless plodding at a feeble, learning-to-walk pace.
... my determination and self-assurance paid off. Not only did I learn how to climb and to overcome my fear of heights, but I also learned something about myself. I have more confidence than what I thought I did before. Sometimes when I go rock climbing I think back at this moment and just laugh to myself. The struggle, the frustration, and pain, but all worthwhile. I now know when I am faced with a new and uncomfortable situation I’m not so worried or nervous instead I challenge it. Everyone encounters a fear in their life, some walk away and some overcome it, am glad I did. I may feel out of my comfort zone in the beginning, but I know that as I practice and stay persistent being in that new situation and as my skills get better; I will slowly but surely feel more comfortable. It is a truly great, free feeling when you accomplish a goal you have set for yourself.