CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Adventure Consultants HQ in
Wanaka; lapping waves of Lake Wanaka; loading gear
in readiness; switchbacks — porentous of steep gradients
ahead.
BETTER STORIES TO TELL
Fast forward to the day I stepped off the plane into a crisp
Queenstown evening; I felt fitter than I had done seven months
earlier and as a result was confident for the trip.
After a day relaxing in Wanaka, I triple checked my gear and
headed to the Adventure Consultants office to meet my fellow
would-be mountain climbers. While my own understanding of
what brought me here was still somewhat hazy, I had
anticipated meeting a group of young, fit, motivated people who
had obvious and logical reasons for being there.
My group comprised of six clients (including myself) and two
guides. The first I encountered was Dan; a solid-looking bloke
with big shoulders and an intense gaze, and to my surprise, he
appeared to be older than me by at least a decade. So too did
Brad, who was next to arrive, a hard one to gauge at first but he
seemed like a chill guy. Then came John and Damien. These
two had clearly been friends for a long time, perhaps even
longer than I’d been alive – as far as I could tell, they were older
than my parents. Lastly, Jonathon arrived; he appeared to be
the closest to the fit, young image I’d conjured up.
Now I wasn't just curious about my own motivations, I
wanted to know why everyone was there. What is it that drives
any first timer into the mountains at such cost and
commitment?
Our guides stood out as two high achieving mountaineers
among this puzzling group. Lydia Bradey, the first female to
summit Everest without supplemental oxygen, with an
impressive number of high-altitude ascents; and Prakash
Sherpa, a Nepalese climber in his late-20s with a fearsome
reputation for strength, on the path to becoming IFMGA
certified mountain guide.
Lydia’s breakout ascent of Everest took place in 1988, which
led me to naively consider that her days of hard climbing might
be behind her. I was wrong; in person it was easy to see she had
many summits still to conquer. She spoke of wealthy clients,
exotic expeditions and brutally tough climbing, and the energy
that f lowed from her stemmed from a place unfamiliar to me.Outdoor \ 61