Living the Dream

"Living the dream!" - this was a remark which repeatedly had us all chuckling on a recent Alipine Club of Canada objective to climb a mountain called Nine Peaks. The entire trip was very strenuous, we had to work hard for it and even now we are still stiff and exhausted. We would joke about "living the dream" as we sat exhausted to rest. But mountaineering would really be nothing without that dream. So much of it is blood, sweat, tears, frustrations, failures, hard work, perseverance and persistence. Never mind the risks involved. It is this not-so-glorious side to mountaineering that has been a hard lesson for me to face since I moved to Canada last year. The Berg seems so much friendlier now. The fact is, I miss the Berg terribly. I think it is the most awesome mountain range in the world!

But amidst the hard lessons of learning a deeper patience in waiting for the mountain to let you approach it, and to actually enjoy the journey of getting there, we are awarded those moments, those dreams that keep us coming back to the mountains. I was awarded one of those fine moments when I arrived on the summit of Nine Peaks, captured so well in this shot:


This is an angle on Nine Peaks showing what the mountain looks like. Note the massive prominence of the peak compared to the climber in the bottom left.


The crux for me personally right now is to live that dream even when the mountain does not permit me to approach it.