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18,510 ft.
Caucasus Mountain Range
Russia
Europe
Roped together for
safety on this slippery slope of ice and snow, we step slowly and deliberately
as a team. Listening to the crunch of my crampons I feel the fierce winds blow
open the hood of my down parka. I cannot stop to adjust, for it will slow our
team’s rhythm. |
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Mount Elbrus journal entry: August 14, 2002 |
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 “Today marks my second attempt to begin this trek. It is the
third peak of my "Seven Summits" quest, and the first one without Dad
by my side. Last month, the night before I was to come home to
visit my family and leave from there to fly to Russia, I got the
call that every child dreads. Mom had died unexpectedly and it was
time to come home for a different reason. My life fell down around
me. I canceled my climb and threw my gear bags as well as two black
dresses into the car. It has been a long sad month, but now I need
to move forward. With Dad’s encouragement, I joined another
climbing team a month later, and here I am. It all feels surreal at
times. I get wrapped up in the excitement of the moment and the
adventure, then I get wrapped up in thoughts of missing my mom and
leaving my dad alone. Each step I took today helped numb the
pain. It is cold, windy, and stings the senses. It is good to at
least feel something. So much of me feels numb with sadness.” |
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