Attempting to Summit Mt. Everest
- Christabel Ododa
- May 6, 2020
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 18, 2020
There have been all manner of ‘Everest firsts’ attempts since then. The first to para glide off Everest, the first to ski down Everest, the youngest, the oldest person to climb Everest, even the first blind person to climb Everest!
The urge to be “the first” on Mount Everest is very powerful with the biggest accomplished in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay when they became the first to reach the summit and stand at the top of the world!
There have been all manner of ‘Everest firsts’ attempts since then. The first to para glide off Everest, the first to ski down Everest, the youngest, the oldest person to climb Everest, even the first blind person to climb Everest!
Even casual observers of the history of climbing Mount Everest know of the dangers faced by climbers. Lack of oxygen, the cold, the ice, the wind and the storms not to mention the likelihood of being swallowed up by crevasses thanks to the rapid glacier movement and of course the seracs-delicately balanced huge, house sized, towering blocks of ice ready to tumble over with no warning at all.
So as much as the 1st Kenyan Everest (2014) never was, you can understand my excitement when I got to interview the first Kenyan to attempt to summit the world’s tallest mountain for Adrenalin Post just two days before he left for the expedition.
Perhaps it is the knowledge of the dangers or could be the adrenaline rush from the knowledge that in the same measure, people actually conquer this beast that left me both excited and feeling a chill run down my spine at the same time when I sat down across Steve Obbayi, the first Kenyan to attempt to summit Mt.Everest.
Have you ever interviewed someone as a writer and yet be lost in your own line of thought at the same time. My mind literally created vivid visions of a fun climb that quickly turns into an unforgiving nightmare. Suddenly you are blinded, you feel the wind freeze the blood in your veins, you can’t think and you can’t find your way anywhere! Alarming fear grips you as your mind falls into a helpless dizziness. You can’t feel your fingers, neither can you your toes. There is ice on the white, dying tissue on your face and the roaring wind drowns your desperate yells for your fellow climbers but nooo, it’s too late for anything! The thought that this could be the last time I saw this man alive kept hovering around somewhere in the back part of my head but not sure how to bring it up I skipped the topic of death for a moment.
Suddenly you are blinded, you feel the wind freeze the blood in your veins, you can’t think and you can’t find your way anywhere! Alarming fear grips you as your mind falls into a helpless dizziness. You can’t feel your fingers, neither can you your toes. There is ice on the white, dying tissue on your face and the roaring wind drowns your desperate yells for your fellow climbers but nooo, it’s too late for anything!
But again, like every lover of extreme outdoor activities knows, you have to fear nothing but fear itself. Steve has had climbing Mt. Everest on his bucket list since the first time he climbed Mt. Longonot as a 14 year old boy. “After hearing so many stories of Everest, I knew that climbing this mountain was the ultimate challenge for me. My mother taught me to fight for what I know I’m capable of and what I want to achieve. She instilled a resolve and resilience in me to overcome any challenge.” He told me
And as fate would have it, luck finds the prepared. When Toby Storie-Pugh, founder and climber on Expedition Everest was searching for the best candidate to sponsor as Kenya’s first climber of the world’s tallest mountain, Steve knew his chance had finally arrived coming top out of the 250 applicants that expressed interest in the title. Welcome to your blog post. Use this space to connect with your readers and potential customers in a way that’s current and interesting. Think of it as an ongoing conversation where you can share updates about business, trends, news, and more.
“After opening a home and school for orphans in Kenya and working in the country for five years, I founded Expedition Everest to support Kenya's first climber. I met dozens of Kenyans who wanted this title. No one wanted it more than Kenyan entrepreneur Steve Obbayi. Over the past year, he has persevered through family and business setbacks, making his Everest training top priority over and over again. His spirit is always shining. His tenacity and passion are evident. “Toby said.
Mountain Climbing is not a new thing to Steve but even after having climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya among others successfully on more than one occasion; even he knew to respect the task ahead. “I have taken time to train over 1 year specifically for this expedition. Aside from my basic keeping fit regimen, I have focused on building my leg strength, training in high altitude, hiking on hilly terrain with a back pack to learn my comfortable speed and how quick I can recover and a whole load of other things. The one thing I’m not prepared for is the mind tricks especially because I can’t pre-empt any but I know they’ll be there.”He laughed
Having found the opportunity I quickly asked, “You mean the fear of death, honestly how do you get past the fear of knowing there’s a good chance you may never come back!?”
“You don’t get past it. The thought is there but you go round it. It is so real you actually leave details of a contact person behind before you go up. But here is the thing when I applied to climb with Expedition Everest in 2012 and later joined the team’s founder Toby Storie-Pugh on this adventure, I knew it would cause ripples in my comfortable life. I knew this would involve huge sacrifices and that I would be pushed to my limits, not just physically and mentally, but emotionally and spiritually. My mother was my role model and now I want to be a role model for Kenyans and to the many that will come after me. ” He adds
“I’m excited. If there’s one thing that Extreme sport has taught me in general it is that there is always a way out of a challenge. It takes your mindset to a place where you can tackle anything. And as a climber I have learned over the years of climbing that not knowing how far till you stop can be frustrating, especially when climbing a mountain for the first time. Have fun and enjoy the process, take in everything you come across and before you know it you will ’stumble’ upon the summit. I’m packing up some happy snacks, my camera and some music to help me relax as I go up. This is not about being anyone special. It’s about being a simple person with a passion so strong it pushes you to fulfill your dreams. My plan is to go at my pace, avoid looking at the peak but keep my eyes on the path. Respect the monster but then again a rock is denser than water and it thinks it can resist water but it’s the water that erodes a rock not the other way round.” Steve said in the most inspiring way ever.
Steve together with Toby were scheduled to leave on March 24th 2014 bound for Kathmandu, Nepal, and Everest Base Camp for a two month climb that would see another ‘Everest First’-The first Kenyan to Summit Everest but one of the most important dont's of mountain climbing is to not let you ego get you killed, always feel comfortable to turn around if the situation calls for it for it is wiser to fail than to die. That way you can make another attempt. Such was the case for the Expedition Everest team, among them Steve Obbayi, after a major avalanche hit the main route from base camp to camp 1 in the morning of the 17th April 2014. The tragedy saw 16 sherpas perish in the Khumbu Icefall and many more climbers missing .
This right here is why my dream of climbing a mountain still remains just that, a dream. Could be the old adage you’ve got nothing to fear but fear itself is a real thing. It’s got to be.
I still do want to climb a mountain and when, or shall I say if and that’s a big if I get round to it, it will definitely be a first for me. One thing is for sure though in addition to wading of my fear, wired somewhere in my brain will be the wisdom to remember not to let my ego get me killed.
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