Monday shall be a new morning
one never seen before
my brother, you shall scale a height unseen before
as the known forms of life fade away and all you have are your climbing buddies,
know that the sun shining on a cloudless afternoon is your best teacher
the billion stars on that chilly night shall shine as bright as your dreams
the calm, smiling moon shall be your friend and soul mate
don't shudder if an unexpected challenge comes
its just mother earth's way of saying "I love you and i'll take care of you"
may fortitude be your armor
rock on my brother! Godspeed!
I have recollected this poem a hundred times on Denali which gave me a lot of strength.Thanks to this very special person who sent it to me before i climbed denali and who has made a ton of difference in my life!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
I wish I could find this girl!!
Her name was Marissa!
I was on a boat cruise in Alaska at Portege glacier to see the glaciers calving.It was a beautiful place and i was busy clicking on my camera.Then she approached me.I could sense the curiosity on her countenance.Her first question was 'Where are you from'? I replied 'From India'. She - 'You have come a long way,where is your group?'.Me -'I am here by myself'.She -'Oh?'.I could see she didn't know what to say next -so i said 'I am here to climb Denali which i will begin in 3 days and i am just spending some time sightseeing'. She - 'Oh!Its a dangerous mountain,i hope you take care'.I said 'I will'.Then i asked where she was from and made small chitchat,i don't remember anything about her apart from her name which she said was 'Marissa'. She said 'take care' and moved away and i went back to my camera. It was just another casual friendly talk which you normally have with complete strangers on your vacations which has no bearing on your memory a few hours later.But little did i know that this was going to turn out a bit different.
After a few minutes she was back.She - 'I want to pray for you'. Me(taken aback) - 'what?'. She - 'Can i hold your hand and pray for you?Please'. I did not know what to say,i dumbly held out my hand. She took my hand and she uttered a sort of grace to god asking him to keep me safe and strong and to give me strength to climb the mountain safely and go back to my family and loved ones safely. I was deeply touched!! I suddenly felt a deep connection with this girl who was just a stranger a few minutes back.
I mumbled 'Thank you'. Then i asked whether i can take a photo of her and with her.She agreed.We had almost reached the end of our cruise trip and she bid a final 'Stay safe' and left with her group. I kept staring after her for sometime digesting what just happened and then i left the boat myself.
I came back safe and successful from Denali and i wish i knew where she was to just let her know that 'I am safe and thanks for your prayers'.
A total stranger touched my life and gave me strength when i least expected it.Just makes me muse about life and good people.
I was on a boat cruise in Alaska at Portege glacier to see the glaciers calving.It was a beautiful place and i was busy clicking on my camera.Then she approached me.I could sense the curiosity on her countenance.Her first question was 'Where are you from'? I replied 'From India'. She - 'You have come a long way,where is your group?'.Me -'I am here by myself'.She -'Oh?'.I could see she didn't know what to say next -so i said 'I am here to climb Denali which i will begin in 3 days and i am just spending some time sightseeing'. She - 'Oh!Its a dangerous mountain,i hope you take care'.I said 'I will'.Then i asked where she was from and made small chitchat,i don't remember anything about her apart from her name which she said was 'Marissa'. She said 'take care' and moved away and i went back to my camera. It was just another casual friendly talk which you normally have with complete strangers on your vacations which has no bearing on your memory a few hours later.But little did i know that this was going to turn out a bit different.
After a few minutes she was back.She - 'I want to pray for you'. Me(taken aback) - 'what?'. She - 'Can i hold your hand and pray for you?Please'. I did not know what to say,i dumbly held out my hand. She took my hand and she uttered a sort of grace to god asking him to keep me safe and strong and to give me strength to climb the mountain safely and go back to my family and loved ones safely. I was deeply touched!! I suddenly felt a deep connection with this girl who was just a stranger a few minutes back.
I mumbled 'Thank you'. Then i asked whether i can take a photo of her and with her.She agreed.We had almost reached the end of our cruise trip and she bid a final 'Stay safe' and left with her group. I kept staring after her for sometime digesting what just happened and then i left the boat myself.
I came back safe and successful from Denali and i wish i knew where she was to just let her know that 'I am safe and thanks for your prayers'.
A total stranger touched my life and gave me strength when i least expected it.Just makes me muse about life and good people.
Citizens of the world!
Here is how the conversation went!
Person 1: You know! I am gay!
Person 2: And I am a lesbian.
Person 3: And I am straight!
Everyone laughs and raise the wine glasses.
Person 1: You know! I am gay!
Person 2: And I am a lesbian.
Person 3: And I am straight!
Everyone laughs and raise the wine glasses.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Breathe in,wheeeeez ...breathe out,Huuuufff ..breathe in,wheeeez...breathe out....Huuuuffff. 'One step', 'One step', 'One step'.... I am staring at my feet and the rope in between my feet and mentally uttering 'One step' for every step i take.I am just following the rope, I dare not look up. In this oxygen replete atmosphere,every step is an effort,the body is tired and fatigued and refuses to move.In such a state looking up and seeing how far to go would be extremely demotivating. My mind is swirling with negative thoughts about giving up.I try to block these negative thoughts and just focus on the one step my leg is taking.
Suddenly Jon shouts from behind,its as if he was reading my mind - 'Don't give up guys!! We are almost there. We started it together and we will finish it together.One step at a time!'. His words infuse new energy and determination which will last about 10 minutes and again the agony will start creeping in. I am at 18,500 feet on Denali, the highest peak in the north American continent.
Then i looked up! My heart sank,i knew the summit was still a good 4-5 hours away.The negative thoughts came now in heavy gusts.The cold was creeping in and hope was diminishing.But still somewhere in the deep of my heart i knew i wanted to do it and would regret it a lot if i turned back which would be the easiest thing to do.This something(possibly desire,possibly an answer to a question,possibly to prove something to myself) kept me going.I painfully continued.Breathe in,wheeeeez ...breathe out,Huuuufff ..breathe in,wheeeez...breathe out....Huuuuffff. 'One step', 'One step', 'One step'....
Suddenly Jon shouts from behind,its as if he was reading my mind - 'Don't give up guys!! We are almost there. We started it together and we will finish it together.One step at a time!'. His words infuse new energy and determination which will last about 10 minutes and again the agony will start creeping in. I am at 18,500 feet on Denali, the highest peak in the north American continent.
Then i looked up! My heart sank,i knew the summit was still a good 4-5 hours away.The negative thoughts came now in heavy gusts.The cold was creeping in and hope was diminishing.But still somewhere in the deep of my heart i knew i wanted to do it and would regret it a lot if i turned back which would be the easiest thing to do.This something(possibly desire,possibly an answer to a question,possibly to prove something to myself) kept me going.I painfully continued.Breathe in,wheeeeez ...breathe out,Huuuufff ..breathe in,wheeeez...breathe out....Huuuuffff. 'One step', 'One step', 'One step'....
I realized a dream..
On June 18th 6:06 PM Alaskan time i realized one of my life dreams, to stand on top of the North american continent.I stood on top of Mount Mckinley aka Denali on June 18th,2011 at 6:06 PM. It was a really proud and emotional moment.
My entire team reached the top.
A jubilant me!
A proud moment!
My entire team reached the top.
A jubilant me!
A proud moment!
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