Doing a ka-90 day something something with my maid of honor @rwanjiram and @outdoorerke starting tomorrow, and I'm so excited.
My only fear is that I might encounter snakes. Like actual snakes 🐍.
Someone bought my friend’s son a small drum set, he didn’t say anything, the son went to bed and the drums were gone. My friend told his son it was all a dream. 😂
There are moments, brief seconds, that are impossible to forget. Split seconds that define lifetimes.
Every now and then, I relive a few seconds of the afternoon of 8th August 2019.
Alex (my guide) and I were descending Khan Tengri, after 'touching' 6,100m during our acclimitization climb. The aim was to descend down to basecamp for a few days of rest before summit push. Khan Tengri is a near perfect pyramid, with very steep faces. Most of the route is on 'knife edges'. Steep drops either side of the route. With fixed ropes almost throughout the route, securing myself on the ropes had become routine.
Somewhere between Camp 2 and 1, I became a bit complacent. I made a near fatal mistake.
I downplayed the need to clip on the fixed rope through one of the sections, thinking it was just a few steps to get to a more stable anchor point. After a few steps, I slipped, fell and started sliding down the mountain face. After what seemed like eternity, my fall to the abyss was suddenly and violently arrested. Luckily (and I was extremely lucky), the ice axe I was holding and desperately trying to dig into the ice with as I slid caught onto an old rope that had been left from previous expeditions. That slowed down the slide and I was was able to finally stop. All this while, Alex was shouting and screaming. I had slid for about 10 feet, but it felt like eternity; because that moment could have defined my eternity.
Alex managed to get me back up the route after a lot of effort. We took sometime to regulate our breathing and acknowledge THAT moment. We then proceed to descend down to basecamp safely without much conversation.
When we got to basecamp, and as if on cue, we just hugged and silently acknowledged that I was reckless for a moment. A moment that would have turned into eternity. #lessonslearned #lifelessons #mountainstories #mountainadventures
@dnkariuki Maybe She chose her Japan made vehicle that day over her usual German made car...and hence the occassional confusion of wipers vs indicator.
Thanks.