Never Too Late for Everest

Spring is finally here and all thoughts now return to going places, visiting kith and kin, getting ready for the beach and spending as little time indoors as possible. Like most people, my family and I tend to think of the fun we'll have seeing new places and driving long distance to be with friends whom we have not seen in a while or making the annual trip to see relatives whether we want to or not. We participate in the usual warm-weather activities of picnicking, trekking, camping and enjoying the sun since Summer goes fast here in the Northeastern United States. But for some, the dream is bigger - more exalted and ambitious.

Climbing Mt. Everest is a dream for many mountaineers and even for some who just want to do it because "it's there." At the age of seventy-nine, there is someone close and dear to me who is ready to conquer Sagarmatha in the first week of June. This man learned to ski after he turned fifty. He was always willing to try something new without hesitation. And now he has given himself the ultimate task - sitting atop Everest as Tenzing Norkay and Edmund Hillary did more than half a century ago.

Mt. Everest is picturesque, foreboding, breathtaking and there. Once one has conquered Everest, what else is there to surmount? The Sahara? There are only so many challenges on Earth and Everest is the creme de la creme. Can my Dad prevail? He certainly has the heart and the will but are they enough? What about the stamina required to accomplish this daunting task? Will the weather cooperate? Will the gods be with him? Only time will tell.

To learn more about Mr. Shailendra K. Upadhyay's endeavor, log onto www.skeesug.org and get more detailed info. After perusing the articles, you might be interested in visiting Nepal to see (or even climb) Everest and find out all about its magnificence. The grandeur that awaits you in second to none. And you will enjoy Nepal with all its quaint cities and traditions. Spring is here. Go forth and enjoy the little country in whose lap lie the Himalaya - the most spectacular sight you can see without the aid of any telescope.