Mike Carter’s tale of
his climbing expedition to
the top of Mera in Nepal is a riveting story of how casual adventure travel all too often crosses the line
into hard core outdoor activity. Carter relates how the group he was with attempted to tackle the summit of Mera –
all 21,250 feet of it. As inexperienced mountaineers, they quickly learned the tricks of the trade necessary to
enjoy, and survive, their trip.
As Carter put it, when he had to snap his socks in the sub zero temperature to put them on, he had truly crossed
that line. After later reaching the summit, he found himself speechless:
I do not have the words to describe what happened next, suffice it to say that, surrounded by five of the planet’s
six highest peaks, celebrating with my fellow summiteers, tears were shed and headaches forgotten.
Words true to any adventurer indeed.