In last month's Outside magazine I read an article about a 13 year old boy from Southern California who was preparing to climb Mount Everest with his dad and step mother. I thought it was a fascinating article about a very motivated kid. His parents were heavily involved with his training, but they made it very clear that they were doing it to support him. Prior to his interest in summiting large mountains (which started at age 9), he was interested in being the next Steve Irwin, so they were fully supportive of him in that regard by surrounding him with opportunities to interact with all kinds of reptiles and animals. They said if tomorrow he wanted to be an NBA basketball player, they would be at the gym that day helping him train to attain that goal as well.
I'm getting off point, but I had to kind of give an idea of what prompted me to read this book.
I was talking to Alene about the article and how the author mentioned that Everest does so much damage to both your mind and body, that he wasn't sure it was a good idea for a kid to be doing it. Alene then started talking to me about reading "Into thin air" years ago and how she thought I would like it. She ordered it for me the next day and once I got it, I could not stop reading.
To summarize the book, it's about a group of 3 summit teams that got lost and stranded on the mountain during their descent in 1996. 8 people died and a few others suffered serious injuries.
The book took me on a journey that fascinated me and pulled me in much like the book "Lone Survivor" did. I don't read as much as I would like to, so when I read a book I make sure it's going to be a good book. I loved the accounts and history of those that had attempted to summit and those that did. I also felt like I gained more of an appreciation for anyone that attempts to summit Everest. The toll it takes on your body is so harsh. I thought we lived at a decent altitude, but knowing that the closest city from their basecamp was at the same level as the highest peak in Utah, it just blew me away.
I remember hiking to the summit of Timpanogos and while I was out of shape, I also noticed feeling a bit light-headed at the top at 11,749 feet. I wasn't sure if it was from being out of shape, or from the altitude. I can't imagine being almost twice as high in the air, which is where Everest is. I do remember the small joy of being up on that mountain and feeling like I had accomplished something against myself. Then I turned around and saw two younger kids and their parents and I didn't feel as special. It was still tough and I'm anxious to do Timp this year and maybe fit in Nebo, then attempt Kings Peak the next summer.
The author was very brutally honest about most of the situations that happened and about those he climbed with. He himself was a mountaineer and had spent a lot of his life on high mountain expeditions, but nothing close to the magnitude of Everest.
The book made me want to climb something higher. I'm not sure why though. Is it the macho man in me that wants to do it? Is it for bragging rights? I think ultimately its my competitive spirit. I've always been competitive in things I do, whether its arguing a point or playing a sport, but I've never been one of those that are so competitive that I whine or get in fights about things not going my way. Lately, with the running I've been doing, I've found a more challenging aspect of competition for me is competing against myself and I've been doing that with running. How scary and nuts it would be to see what you could do on a mountain like that.
I'm confident I would never do Everest because it costs a lot of money (about $40-$60k) and because it's too dangerous and I have people that depend on me. However, this book definitely motivated me to push myself a bit more and get out and see what I can do. It also taught me about not judging people for their actions in tough times. Some of the deaths could have easily been avoided, but it's not my place to point out faults and weaknesses of others. Nobody knows how they'll respond at that altitude (they say often times that your thought process diminishes to that of a 4-5 year old) and in those deathly circumstances.
It's a great book and a fast read and I'd recommend it to anyone.
Oh, by the way, I found out 2 days ago that the 13 year old boy made it to the summit and back safely.
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Miracle in the Andes
Alene has always talked to me about this book and I knew I would read it, I just wasn't sure when. We borrowed it from her sister April and I read it pretty quickly. The movie Alive was not based off this book (it was based off another book taken from stories of all 17 survivors) but this book is told from Nando's perspective.
The book is the account of one of the two rugby players that hiked out of the Andes to find help for him and his teammates. They spent 72 days in the Andes with nothing to eat and little to drink. One would think that being surrounded by snow would be a blessing, but after eating snow for a day or so, it has so many damaging things to your lips, mouth, and throat (blisters for one) and it keeps your body temp very cool, which is not a good thing. Melting it was also hard because it was always cold and they did not have anything to burn to make a fire.
I could not control my tears in so many parts. Nando Parrado has a way with words that really tug at your hearts and make you feel what he was feeling, or make you think that you would feel the same way in the situation he and the others were faced with.
Some of my favorite parts had to do with the discussion of religion and God. Most of the guys on the plane continued to talk about how they were spared their lives because of the grace of God, while Nando was the only one (at least most of the time) that actually lost family members (his mother and sister) in the crash, so he was very bitter and had a hard time believing in God at all. He also had many discussions with a teammate who was confined to a hammock because of broken legs. This teammate was a known Socialist and was against any sort of organized religion, but he was also very spiritual and talked constantly about God and how close he feels to God in that situation.
There are so many great examples in this story that would help with building a stronger family, or encouraging those around you to work together.
The only part that rubbed me the wrong way was Nando's post-crash life and how he kind of became a playboy because of all the attention he received. He seemed like a guy that was pretty much given everything he wanted in life (a life of privlige in private schooling, college, without having to work much), to this horrible crash (something I could never fathom myself making it through), then living life for a while as if he was "owed" it to have fun. He talks about this time in a negative manner though, so I guess it's easy for me to judge without being in his shoes. Like I said, it just rubbed me the wrong way. Nando is still someone I would consider a "hero" and I don't have a lot of those.
I highly recommend this book to anyone. It's a quick read and has so many great learning points about our life, how precious it is and about what's most important to us. It also talked about how close we all are to death and if we could just realize that, we would love our lives so much more.
As I was doing some additional research, I found this video done by ESPN's "Outside the lines'. It's long (about 10 minutes), but the end had me choked up.
Alene and I just bought the movie (Alive) and we will be watching it soon. I've seen it once before, but don't remember much from it at all. I'm excited to see it now.
The book is the account of one of the two rugby players that hiked out of the Andes to find help for him and his teammates. They spent 72 days in the Andes with nothing to eat and little to drink. One would think that being surrounded by snow would be a blessing, but after eating snow for a day or so, it has so many damaging things to your lips, mouth, and throat (blisters for one) and it keeps your body temp very cool, which is not a good thing. Melting it was also hard because it was always cold and they did not have anything to burn to make a fire.
I could not control my tears in so many parts. Nando Parrado has a way with words that really tug at your hearts and make you feel what he was feeling, or make you think that you would feel the same way in the situation he and the others were faced with.
Some of my favorite parts had to do with the discussion of religion and God. Most of the guys on the plane continued to talk about how they were spared their lives because of the grace of God, while Nando was the only one (at least most of the time) that actually lost family members (his mother and sister) in the crash, so he was very bitter and had a hard time believing in God at all. He also had many discussions with a teammate who was confined to a hammock because of broken legs. This teammate was a known Socialist and was against any sort of organized religion, but he was also very spiritual and talked constantly about God and how close he feels to God in that situation.
There are so many great examples in this story that would help with building a stronger family, or encouraging those around you to work together.
The only part that rubbed me the wrong way was Nando's post-crash life and how he kind of became a playboy because of all the attention he received. He seemed like a guy that was pretty much given everything he wanted in life (a life of privlige in private schooling, college, without having to work much), to this horrible crash (something I could never fathom myself making it through), then living life for a while as if he was "owed" it to have fun. He talks about this time in a negative manner though, so I guess it's easy for me to judge without being in his shoes. Like I said, it just rubbed me the wrong way. Nando is still someone I would consider a "hero" and I don't have a lot of those.
I highly recommend this book to anyone. It's a quick read and has so many great learning points about our life, how precious it is and about what's most important to us. It also talked about how close we all are to death and if we could just realize that, we would love our lives so much more.
As I was doing some additional research, I found this video done by ESPN's "Outside the lines'. It's long (about 10 minutes), but the end had me choked up.
Alene and I just bought the movie (Alive) and we will be watching it soon. I've seen it once before, but don't remember much from it at all. I'm excited to see it now.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
What makes a Hero? What makes us believe?
I just finished reading the book "In the company of Hero's" by Michael Durant, who was the famous Blackhawk night stalker pilot that was shot down in mogadishu and held captive for 11 days before getting released. First, I cannot fathom going through what he did. He was a brave person alone for just surviving what he went through. However, he brought up some interesting points in his book.
He said that growing up he was a Catholic and attended church every sunday with his family. Once he moved out of the house after graduating high school and joining the military, he said he stopped going, but would on occasion ask for a prayer from a non-denominational preacher on the base.
During his captivity, one of the greatest things that was delivered to him was a tiny Holy Bible. It was great in two-fold. The first was that he used it to secretly keep a journal of everything that happened to him from the crash, to the present. He wrote in any areas of blank space in the bible. Second though, he actually started to read the bible and he conjured up a point that is often said: "There are no atheists in fox holes", which meant that even a non-believer will begin to pray to God when faced with their own mortality.
He didn't always consider himself a non-believer, but going through what he went through seemed to bring him closer to God in many ways. From his time after his captivity, he swore his devotion to making God a priority in his life and it has been that way since.
One of the other cool things from his book was the story of the two Delta Snipers I've spoken about before (Gary Gordon and Randy Shugart), who knowing that they would be stepping into a death pit, begged to be released on the ground from a hovering Blackhawk so they could provide support to Durants fallen chopper and crew. I'm still blown away at Durants recount of how they were both so very calm, despite bullets flying around them and people getting closer and closer. Even when he heard Gordon yell, "I'm hit" , it wasn't a shreak, it was matter-of-factly as if to say "dang"as if he was annoyed. These guys were extremely brave and both obviously earned their post-humous Medals of Honor.
But something interesting Mike Durant found. Upon his arrival home and his rehabilitation, he was asked to come to Gary Gordon's hometown in Maine to speak at a memorial for Gary. When he arrived in the town, he stopped by the local library to check out a book on the Medal of Honor so he could do a little research. He noticed it seemed the book was pretty old, but had not been used much. As he looked at the check-out card, he noticed that years ago, a person by the name of Gary Gordon checked out the book. I'm not sure if he did research or what, but he claimed it was Gary who had checked it out last, when he was a teenager.
So that begged the question, what makes a hero? I believe that heros are born and are within some of us and we just don't know it. Guys that join the military, and especially those that are hard-core committed, say like a Gordon or a Shugart, are people think that have what it takes to be a hero. They're calm under pressure and they think clearly. They have something inside of them that is selfless and proud.
I'm proud of those that choose to truly serve our country, not just get into it to get some schooling paid, or free room and board for a few years (although I'm still grateful for those people at least making a commitment to something), but those that believe in what America does, should, and could stand for. People bitch about our country (and I think most of it comes from within our borders), but I'd like to see someone point out to me a better country and how much greater they have it there. When they do, I'll tell them to pack their bags and get their ass over there and enjoy the rest of their days. I'm not going anywhere.
/rant
He said that growing up he was a Catholic and attended church every sunday with his family. Once he moved out of the house after graduating high school and joining the military, he said he stopped going, but would on occasion ask for a prayer from a non-denominational preacher on the base.
During his captivity, one of the greatest things that was delivered to him was a tiny Holy Bible. It was great in two-fold. The first was that he used it to secretly keep a journal of everything that happened to him from the crash, to the present. He wrote in any areas of blank space in the bible. Second though, he actually started to read the bible and he conjured up a point that is often said: "There are no atheists in fox holes", which meant that even a non-believer will begin to pray to God when faced with their own mortality.
He didn't always consider himself a non-believer, but going through what he went through seemed to bring him closer to God in many ways. From his time after his captivity, he swore his devotion to making God a priority in his life and it has been that way since.
One of the other cool things from his book was the story of the two Delta Snipers I've spoken about before (Gary Gordon and Randy Shugart), who knowing that they would be stepping into a death pit, begged to be released on the ground from a hovering Blackhawk so they could provide support to Durants fallen chopper and crew. I'm still blown away at Durants recount of how they were both so very calm, despite bullets flying around them and people getting closer and closer. Even when he heard Gordon yell, "I'm hit" , it wasn't a shreak, it was matter-of-factly as if to say "dang"as if he was annoyed. These guys were extremely brave and both obviously earned their post-humous Medals of Honor.
But something interesting Mike Durant found. Upon his arrival home and his rehabilitation, he was asked to come to Gary Gordon's hometown in Maine to speak at a memorial for Gary. When he arrived in the town, he stopped by the local library to check out a book on the Medal of Honor so he could do a little research. He noticed it seemed the book was pretty old, but had not been used much. As he looked at the check-out card, he noticed that years ago, a person by the name of Gary Gordon checked out the book. I'm not sure if he did research or what, but he claimed it was Gary who had checked it out last, when he was a teenager.
So that begged the question, what makes a hero? I believe that heros are born and are within some of us and we just don't know it. Guys that join the military, and especially those that are hard-core committed, say like a Gordon or a Shugart, are people think that have what it takes to be a hero. They're calm under pressure and they think clearly. They have something inside of them that is selfless and proud.
I'm proud of those that choose to truly serve our country, not just get into it to get some schooling paid, or free room and board for a few years (although I'm still grateful for those people at least making a commitment to something), but those that believe in what America does, should, and could stand for. People bitch about our country (and I think most of it comes from within our borders), but I'd like to see someone point out to me a better country and how much greater they have it there. When they do, I'll tell them to pack their bags and get their ass over there and enjoy the rest of their days. I'm not going anywhere.
/rant
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