#BEST ADVICE- CLIMB IN A DAY

On 29 May 1953, Sir Edmund Percival Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. In 1952, Tenzing Norgay was part of a Swiss Expedition which had fallen short of Mount Everest by 240 meters due to weather and exhaustion.

Hillary and Norgay had carved out a professional relationship as they both trained together for the treacherous climb through Khumbu Icefall. The final Camp at South Col was set up by the Hunt Expedition at 7890 Meters. The first of the two climbers of the expedition, Bourdillon and Evans, attempted the summit on 26 May 1953. They fell short by 91 Meters as Evans’ oxygen system failed in those trying conditions. Hillary and Tenzing then made the second attempt.

Snow and wind held the pair up at the South Col for two days. On the morning of 28 May 1953, Hillary and Tenzing set out with a support trio of Lowe, Alfred Gregory and Ang Nyima. The two pitched a tent at 8,500 m on 28 May while their support group returned down the mountain. On the following morning, Hillary discovered that his boots had frozen solid outside the tent. He spent two hours warming them before he and Tenzing attempted the final ascent wearing 14 kg packs. The crucial move of the last part of the ascent was the 12 m rock face later named the "Hillary Step". Hillary saw a means to wedge his way up a crack in the face between the rock wall and the ice and Tenzing followed. From there on the balance effort was relatively simple. Tenzing Norgay stated in his narration "The Dream Comes True" that Hillary had indeed taken the first step atop Mount Everest, despite Hillary quoting that both had reached the summit at the same time. They reached Everest's 8,848 m summit, the highest point on earth, at 11:30 am on 29 May 1953. As Hillary put it, "A few more whacks of the ice axe in the firm snow, and we stood on top."

What would have been the thoughts of Hillary and Tenzing as they packed their bags to make the final assault on the virgin peak of Mt Everest? The day would have dawned with its own peculiarities on 8500 meters above the Mean Sea Level. All the previous days of the expedition were now events of past utilized for acclimatization, training and climb. 29 May 1953 was a brand new day for both the climbers and they had a mission to scale. The only baggage they carried was physical in nature and weighed 14 Kgs each pack. With their eyes set on the top of the summit, they would have both made a careful climb up the mountain. They did not carry any radio sets to communicate their climb with the base camp. Everything that they both were tasked to achieve had to be done on that day- 29 May 1953. Each passing day would have only made their task difficult and worn off their spirits. The mission would keep on getting critical with the ticking away off the clock. The choices are limited when time starts wearing away towards darkness. Both Hillary and Tenzing did what was supposed to be done- they climbed the Mount Everest in a day on that fateful day of May 1953. In the history books, both got etched forever as the first climbers to scale the tallest mountain and the singular date 29 May 1953 became a landmark date.

In any human life, the time spans can be large but the days of milestones are unique and singular. Humans prepare in their own myriad ways for various challenges and adventures of the maze called life. Who knows what they encounter in between or how they shape up plans to meet the exigencies? The magic of successful humans lies in circumventing/taking challenges head on and achieve the tasks on the designated day. The significance of each day lies in the achievements scaled in its span of 24 hours. Humans learn and practice to be ready for the D-day. Everything, therefore, does happen in a day!! Some may contest this assumption but what is the harm in getting pinned to the ideology that each day is important and much can be achieved if the focus is correct.

A student prepares the whole year to write that elusive exam on the D-Day, an astronaut trains for that perfect take off on the D-Day, the project are matched for various timelines to meet the D-day etc. In almost each human activity, the day is an important constituent. A lost day cannot be regained. All practice is void if the target cannot be captured on the D-Day. Each one of the humans have the capability to awaken themselves to capture their day and to achieve the climb. The will power factor plays an important role in shaping the human destiny. No human activity is easy, but on the flip side no activity is such complex that the little climbs associated with them cannot even be attempted. Each failure can be converted into First Effort in Learning (FAIL) and each end can be termed as Effort Never Dies (END). In every No there can be the Next Opportunity (NO). There is no better adage that “Each Day Counts”. After all, the final climb happens in a day only.

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay dreamt years about climbing the Mount Everest and climbed for 07 grueling weeks before they dug the final axe on the peak at 1130 hrs on 29 May 1953. The climb was done in a day.

Each day, all of us are preparing and practicing for the respective climbs in various fields. The D-day arrives with each of its moment etched with precision. The time does not stand still ever. We have to gather ourselves up on all possible fronts and make the first move for the climb. Each step takes us closer to the summit. Finally, the last axe is dug deep onto the summit and it provides the last help to scale the highest point. The height of success dwarfs everything else- though momentarily as the next challenge starts unfolding its majestic climb. So, keep putting out those steps in the right direction to achieve the climb in a day.