DISPATCHES

O'Fallon

Some of us may stay and keep trying. Some of us have children, a wife and critical jobs that will not allow us to stay. Some of us just don't want to wait any longer.

So we wait. We wait for the weather to clear. We wait as the food runs low. We wait as humor wanes and the itch for home, daily showers, good food, flush toilets, and pizza increases. We realize what those at home mean to our lives, how our children and wives and friends fulfill us.

Our trip has been one of discord, bickering and even rancor. Yet as we dream of home and loved ones and get ready to leave, I realize how much I will miss most of this group. Typical...it is only in parting that we truly appreciate what we have.

Still we wait. Hoping for one more shot at the mountain. The weather teases us daily. Three more days and few of us will be willing to go up again. Some of us have thousands of dollars of equipment on the mountain yet would walk away without a backward glance.

With only about 18 days of good weather, we have fixed ropes almost all the way to Camp 4. It is a pity we will be measured by our success or failure. By my measure, I have spent but 10 nights on the mountain. More of a pity, we will measure our own success only by reaching the summit. Maybe that is the way it should be.

Still we wait for success— three days in most of our minds. Three days for us to head up. We pray for but a chance. We just want the weather window to prove to ourselves, most importantly ourselves, that we belong here, that we measure up. We would rather walk away failing and having tried (I am sure this is some weird cliché or quote) than having never had the chance. Would it be fair that weather alone dictates our success? In reality, it often does, but after four months it approaches the tragic.

Still we wait.

— Shawn O'Fallon, MountainZone.com Correspondent

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