CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS
CLIMB MT. EVEREST? NOT ME!
High at the top of my list of the things I won’t accomplish in this lifetime is joining the minority part of humanity, an estimated 2,000 persons, who successfully scaled Mount Everest. Climbers, including a 71-year-old Japanese man, a climber with an artificial leg, and a teenaged boy, have reached the summit since 1953.
In 2007 more than “239 people had already climbed the 8,850 metre (29,035 feet) summit from the Nepali side and the rest from Tibet,” according to Sherpa. The previous record was 470 people who made their journey in the 2006 spring climbing season.
Historians say that many people have conquered the summit more than once, meaning that the number of ascents is likely much higher than 2,000. At least 202 people have died trying to reach the top. (To read this article click on http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070531/india_nm/india300836)
Living in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains I do climb Laurel Mountain on a regular basis (click on http://www.travellady.com/Issues/June05/1522LaurelHighlands.htm). That is, I drive or ride up the twisty paved road to the top of the mountain, which is close to 3,000 foot high and is part of the well-worn, rounded-off Laurel Ridge. Usually my trek is to take visitors to the Flight 93 Crash Site, the Flight 93 Memorial Chapel, the Quecreek Mine site and the Coal Miner’s Café. (click on FLIGHT 93 CRASH SITE MEMORIAL, or visit www.carolyncholland.wordpress.com and scroll down the category Laurel Highlands to read Flight 93 Memorial Chapel 5th Anniversary)
I even did a story on a hiker walking the Lincoln Highway (Rt. 30) from New York City to San Francisco. I met him as he finished his descent down Laurel Mountain (click on HIKING THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY Part 1 of 2
On a beautiful October day in 2006 I managed to climb Schoodic Mountain in Hancock County, Maine. At numerous points I thought we’d reached the top, then looked around the bend to see the next level. The trails were narrow and gravelly, so footing was a problem. During the climb, I compared what we were experiencing to the experience of Madame Rosalie de Leval, who climbed this very same mountain in October 1791. A French émigré, she was a land speculator with Henry Jackson and William Duer. She climbed Schoodic Mountain to survey her “promised land.” (Madame is the main character in the historical romance novel I am attempting to write. Read her profile at Madame Rosalie de la Val: A Character Sketch) (to read about my climbing adventure click on OH, TO CLIMB SCHOODIC MOUNTAIN (Maine))
It was another beautiful day when I found myself in the German (Bavarian) Alps. We were visiting my son, a postgraduate student in Munich, for two weeks. I’d done my homework, so I knew what I wanted to do while I was there. Two adventures I wanted were to visit a farm overnight and to visit the top of a mountain. Time constraints caused us to choose, so I chose the farm.
We arrived at the farm after dark. While walking from the bus to the farm, lo and behold, we saw lights marking a mountain! We had picked a farm at the base of Wahlberg Mountain. The next morning we walked to the lift cars that would take us to the top. When we arrived I understood the magic of the mountains in The Sound of Music.
In the midst of the top of the alps there were actually peaks! Rolling oceans of peaks. We drank in the view—including that of Tegensee Lake below us.
Monte proceeded to climb the final level to the top. I hiked part way up, but wasn’t courageous to do the final lap.
I made good use of my camera. At one point, I wanted to take a picture of the lake between the grasses, which meant I had to lower myself to their level. I looked up to see a man kind staring at my prone body and mischievously said, “What can you expect? I’m an American!” Monte just rolled his eyes!
Other mountain climbings fill my journals. Monte and I drove to the top of Mt. Washington on our honeymoon and forty years later drove up Cadillac Mountain on Mount Desert Island in Maine.
Yet, I have no desire to climb Mt. Everest. I will vicariously enjoy the view from the top through magnificent photographs taken by others brave enough to make the assent. Meanwhile, I can enjoy my memories, different for each experience, and my own photographs.
ADDITIONAL READING:
RUSS’S ASSIGNMENT: WRITE CAROLYN’S EULOGY Lent Devotion
SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIANS DRINK MOXIE: Do They Like It?
YOU MEAN THIS NEW ENGLANDER IS A WESTSYLVANIAN?
Staycation Day Trip: Somerset County, PA
Compagnie du Scioto Meeting at Café le Procope: Novel #3A
Compagnie du Scioto Meeting at Cafe le Procope (Novel #3B)
IN NEW ENGLAND, HISTORY CONFLICTS WITH PROGRESS
IN SEARCH OF THE ARABELLA: A Story of Two Boats
IS THIS “CHEERS?”
The Isles of Shoals: Beauty, Mystery, Intrigue
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Climb Mt. Everest? Not Me!
Tags: All posts, Appalachian Mountain foothills, Cadillac Mountain (Mount Desert Island—Maine), Coal Miner’s Café, COMMENTARY, Contemplation, Diary, Flight 93 crash site, Henry Knox, JOURNAL, Journaling, Latest post, Laurel Mountain---PA, Madame Rosalie de Leval, Maine, Memories, Misc., Miscellaneous, Mount Everest, Mount Everest climbers, Mountain climbing, Mt. Washington (N.H.), Musings, Pennsylvania, Reflections, Schoodic Mountain-Maine, Tegensee Lake (Germany), The Flight 93 Memorial Chapel, The German (Bavarian) Alps, The Lincoln Highway (Rt. 30) –PA, the Quecreek Mine site, Things I won’t do in this lifetime, This is where I’ve been, Travel, Vacation in Germany, Vacations, William Duer
CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS
CLIMB MT. EVEREST? NOT ME!
High at the top of my list of the things I won’t accomplish in this lifetime is joining the minority part of humanity, an estimated 2,000 persons, who successfully scaled Mount Everest. Climbers, including a 71-year-old Japanese man, a climber with an artificial leg, and a teenaged boy, have reached the summit since 1953.
In 2007 more than “239 people had already climbed the 8,850 metre (29,035 feet) summit from the Nepali side and the rest from Tibet,” according to Sherpa. The previous record was 470 people who made their journey in the 2006 spring climbing season.
Historians say that many people have conquered the summit more than once, meaning that the number of ascents is likely much higher than 2,000. At least 202 people have died trying to reach the top. (To read this article click on http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070531/india_nm/india300836)
Living in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains I do climb Laurel Mountain on a regular basis (click on http://www.travellady.com/Issues/June05/1522LaurelHighlands.htm). That is, I drive or ride up the twisty paved road to the top of the mountain, which is close to 3,000 foot high and is part of the well-worn, rounded-off Laurel Ridge. Usually my trek is to take visitors to the Flight 93 Crash Site, the Flight 93 Memorial Chapel, the Quecreek Mine site and the Coal Miner’s Café. (click on FLIGHT 93 CRASH SITE MEMORIAL, or visit www.carolyncholland.wordpress.com and scroll down the category Laurel Highlands to read Flight 93 Memorial Chapel 5th Anniversary)
I even did a story on a hiker walking the Lincoln Highway (Rt. 30) from New York City to San Francisco. I met him as he finished his descent down Laurel Mountain (click on HIKING THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY Part 1 of 2
On a beautiful October day in 2006 I managed to climb Schoodic Mountain in Hancock County, Maine. At numerous points I thought we’d reached the top, then looked around the bend to see the next level. The trails were narrow and gravelly, so footing was a problem. During the climb, I compared what we were experiencing to the experience of Madame Rosalie de Leval, who climbed this very same mountain in October 1791. A French émigré, she was a land speculator with Henry Jackson and William Duer. She climbed Schoodic Mountain to survey her “promised land.” (Madame is the main character in the historical romance novel I am attempting to write. Read her profile at Madame Rosalie de la Val: A Character Sketch) (to read about my climbing adventure click on OH, TO CLIMB SCHOODIC MOUNTAIN (Maine))
It was another beautiful day when I found myself in the German (Bavarian) Alps. We were visiting my son, a postgraduate student in Munich, for two weeks. I’d done my homework, so I knew what I wanted to do while I was there. Two adventures I wanted were to visit a farm overnight and to visit the top of a mountain. Time constraints caused us to choose, so I chose the farm.
We arrived at the farm after dark. While walking from the bus to the farm, lo and behold, we saw lights marking a mountain! We had picked a farm at the base of Wahlberg Mountain. The next morning we walked to the lift cars that would take us to the top. When we arrived I understood the magic of the mountains in The Sound of Music.
In the midst of the top of the alps there were actually peaks! Rolling oceans of peaks. We drank in the view—including that of Tegensee Lake below us.
Monte proceeded to climb the final level to the top. I hiked part way up, but wasn’t courageous to do the final lap.
I made good use of my camera. At one point, I wanted to take a picture of the lake between the grasses, which meant I had to lower myself to their level. I looked up to see a man kind staring at my prone body and mischievously said, “What can you expect? I’m an American!” Monte just rolled his eyes!
Other mountain climbings fill my journals. Monte and I drove to the top of Mt. Washington on our honeymoon and forty years later drove up Cadillac Mountain on Mount Desert Island in Maine.
Yet, I have no desire to climb Mt. Everest. I will vicariously enjoy the view from the top through magnificent photographs taken by others brave enough to make the assent. Meanwhile, I can enjoy my memories, different for each experience, and my own photographs.
ADDITIONAL READING:
RUSS’S ASSIGNMENT: WRITE CAROLYN’S EULOGY Lent Devotion
SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIANS DRINK MOXIE: Do They Like It?
YOU MEAN THIS NEW ENGLANDER IS A WESTSYLVANIAN?
Staycation Day Trip: Somerset County, PA
Compagnie du Scioto Meeting at Café le Procope: Novel #3A
Compagnie du Scioto Meeting at Cafe le Procope (Novel #3B)
IN NEW ENGLAND, HISTORY CONFLICTS WITH PROGRESS
IN SEARCH OF THE ARABELLA: A Story of Two Boats
IS THIS “CHEERS?”
The Isles of Shoals: Beauty, Mystery, Intrigue
Like this: