May 14, 2008 - 10:41pm — MountEverest2008
An Objective to Rest
Pangboche
Ahhh, last night I slept like a baby. Curled up in a bed, I rested, not waking once for maybe nine hours. The air was rich, the blankets thick, and my dreams were pleasant. It's funny, at home I never consider a bed a luxury. I hop in and out of it. On a good day, I make it. It simply is there as it should be. For me, Hlee, and when she's good, our dog Lucy. Here though, after being bedless for a month, I look at this piece of furniture a little differently. How nice that it is raised off the ground. How wonderful that it is not resting on glacier. Enjoyable too is it's level nature (depending on the tent I'm sleeping in, I've gotten use to pointing my feet in the downhill direction, regardless of the door's placement, so as to avoid blood rushing to my head during the night). I guess that's a cool part about expeditions like this - you go without life's typical comforts, and then when you are provided them again, you are less inclined to take them for granted.
Today, we ate. We slept. We did close to nothing that required any real energy. Our objective is to recover, rest, and ready ourselves for our summit attempt. On the recover front, for me, my cough is still with me, my lips and underside of nose a bit burnt, and I have a tickle in my throat, and the rib condition still exists. Also, I've lost weight- like with other climbers, the weight to go is muscle mass (not fat). So, we joke at each other that we now have chicken legs. All considered though, I'm in good shape. A few days here and I hope to shorten the list of ailments. My mind is fine, my determination high, and I'm excited about the attempt. Others have little challenges too - colds, diarrhea, headaches. Nothing serious though, which is good.
I few quick words to all the schools out there following along. The first word: wow! I think maybe 25 schools now have joined the climb around the country. How cool is that?! The second word: thanks! The questions the students are asking, the nice, supportive comments teachers and students are posting, the fact that our team is not alone on the mountainside... this all really matters to us. Thank you - truly... and I promise to do my best to ensure your mascots reach the top of the world.
Finally tonight, I'd like to congratulate my wife Hlee on completing the cooking program at Johnson & Wales. Over the past nine months, she has been residing (during the week) in Charlotte, NC. There, she has been working very, very hard to learn the culinary arts. Her classes have ranged from baking to bartending, sauteeing to sculpting (ice, that is). She was a fine cook before- she is an even more informed, skilled, and experienced one now. Congratulations Hlee - I'm proud of you for your accomplishment, even more so though for having the courage and gumption to pursue your passion. As mentioned, I'm loosing a little weight here - and that said- I'll happily be your guinea pig for any new creations you'd like to serve up when I return!
Off to bed again. As I go, I question whether I really want to sleep in a sleeping bag again...