Tibetan Prayer Flags

Day 12: The mountains of the Himalayan Range are the ultimate draw for any serious climber, though only a select few ever go on to conquer any of their peaks. Their names glitter with romance: Everest, K2, Kangchenjunga, the Gasherbrums, Nanga Parbat, Lhotse, all towering over 8000 meters above sea level. Yet not too far from my door, many a future or former Himalayan alpinist has gripped another challenge. Mount Rainier draws both fools and the finest. Few of the former reach its summit, and not all of the latter.

An ascent of Mount Rainier is not to be taken lightly. Over the years, it has taken many lives, and some of them my friends. As you drive up the highway toward the Nisqually Entrance, you may notice brightly colored Tibetan prayer flags fluttering in the wind at homes and mountaineering services. They acknowledge in traditional fashion those climbers now climb the great mountains in spirit only, whether far away in an exotic land or right here at home.

I never went to the Himalayas, nor even to Denali. My days of climbing are over, but with six ascents of Mount Rainier by five routes under my belt, I cannot help but wish myself young again, and empowered by a belief in my own immortality.