Part 4 - Finally - At Base Camp -
It is getting colder. Bimala must keep going. This is no longer just an adventure, it is spiritual as well. There is you, that lifeforce entity that is you, there is the body, and there is the environment. This now is a lesson of who is in charge. Do you listen to the inner voices telling you loudly to turn back? Or have you planned it correctly? You must decide, not the body, or its hidden whispering voices.
There are now two others in Bimala's team. They wait patiently for her to cross. Base camp is very close.
The glazier that they must cross is further back. This one here has now passed, and only left are shards of ice and rock.
They keep pushing upwards. Each breath is harder. Bimala breathes deep, but the breath does not invigorate the body anymore. The screaming of the body that has been telling her to stop has long gone now. It knows who is in charge. It has given up trying to control her. It only hopes that she knows what she is expecting of it. This is one of life's biggest surprises.
Bimala arrives at Base Camp. 5,364 meters. She gives a victory salute of respect to the mountain, and the spirits there. She says thank you.
For those who do not know it, many people cannot not make it, not even this far. At this time of the year the skies are ringing with the sounds of helicopters rescuing people from the mountain. People are coughing up blood, succumbing to altitude sickness, which is the defense of the mountain.
Bimala's next task is now to leave Mount Everest. She cannot stay. She could go higher if it was not so close to winter, if it were a little less cold. But for now, she will go back down the mountain. And on the way down, she has already declared she will be back, to return, higher next time. She will return with more planning, greater determination and longer training.
The End of this Post
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