<1>
I write this manuscript at the C2 camp at an altitude of 5,000 meters. At 3 o'clock in the morning, we will be ready for the final summit attack. I had a headache, a sleepless night the night before, vomiting, diarrhea, and coughing. Hiking at high altitudes was not easy. Every day was exhausting and exposed to the scorching ultraviolet rays. I have severe cervical spondylosis and have never been able to adapt perfectly to high altitude sickness, but I don’t need to live in a place as warm as spring.
There are some quite steep snow slopes today, making it almost impossible to move forward on foot. We can only hold on to the ascender and cling to the slope like leeches. My appetite has not been good these past few days. I have indeed consumed too much physical energy today. I drank too much mountain snow water. Whatever I eat feels white, even if it tastes like chewing wax, I still swallowed an energy bar like a whale.
The sky is nice, a mountain wind has just blown, and now the sky is bright and quiet. The vast world of dust in all directions stretches magnificently before my eyes, and the golden light cast by the setting sun is beautiful. It is wider than I have ever seen in my life. Ten miles ahead and ten miles ahead, the clouds are still surging. I have been living in the few kilometers under this sea of clouds, which is the field of sorrows, joys and sorrows of the world.
I am in good condition today. Although I still have severe high fever and vomited several times, my thinking is still clear and I am not so hypoxic that I cannot speak clearly. It is said that in the hypoxic state of high-altitude mountaineering, you cannot say a slightly more complicated sentence, such as this sentence: The agile brown fox jumped over a lazy dog.
I caught a cold before setting off from Guangzhou, and had some difficulties during the technical training and adaptation period when I arrived at the base camp. As a result, I could only breathe through my mouth at night and had almost no sleep for ten minutes.
I have always had a dream. In this life, I want to climb Mount Everest, reach the South Pole and the North Pole, and follow the spacecraft to outer space. I don’t care how hard it is to get these things and how much money it costs. Life is really the most amazing and unpredictable journey. How difficult is it to take this trip? How to remain calm? How to use a heavy sword without a sharp edge? Without experience and experience, how can one establish a person and achieve success?
<2>
Facing the rising sun, at 7:30 in the morning, after four hours of climbing, I finally stood on the top of Half Ridge, and my teammates were cheering excitedly. The wind was howling at the top of the mountain, and my phone automatically shut down after taking a photo.
I stood on the peak of more than 5,400 meters, as if standing on the shoulders of giants. I believe that few people have seen such magnificent scenery and such aggressive mountain winds. We trekked and climbed so hard and finally stood on the top of this snow-capped mountain.
Climbing brings me far more than the joy of conquest, but it tells me: The reason why the road you are taking now is so difficult and dangerous is because you are going up. Based on this premise, climbing is one of the dreams in life.
Not far away is Yaomei Peak at an altitude of 6200. The famous death rock wall as smooth as a blade faces the half-ridge peak. So far, the climbing mortality rate on Yaomei Peak is over 20%. The glaciers are active and the extremely unstable climate can easily trigger avalanches and ice cracks.
Looking at Yaomei Peak, I can vividly imagine that there must be many bodies of dream chasers hanging on those rock walls. They will stay there forever. They chase heights, altitudes, honors and auras, but they will always leave their dreams on the mountains. And returning alive is the most humble and fervent prayer of those little people living at altitude.
People who have no dreams are indeed scary, and people who live in dreams all day long are even more shunned.
<3>
I read a book on the plane back to the city. Although the road of life is long, there are often only a few steps to the critical point. Although it certainly cannot be said that I have experienced life completely, passing through those few steps is considered important. Living a wonderful life is a winner.
Those who guard the weak will gain, and those who guard the fear will survive.