Speaking in front of reporters for what would seemingly have been the thousandth time, George Mallory gives the almost snide, immortal response to the question “why climb Mt. Everest”: because it is there. Now, 84 years later, one man looks back at what Mallory must have faced when attempting to tame the wildest frontier known to man, as he himself prepares to undertake a perilous journey of his own.

I sometimes wonder what Mallory must have been thinking, cold, stranded and slowly losing mobility, struggling to breathe the thin air, prolonging for a few seconds more — a few seconds more! — a life that was better lived than any. Here was a man who dared to do things. A man who, at 38, had a richer storehouse of experience than those twice, thrice his age. A man of action, vigor and strength, helpless to prevent the dying of his once-raging light under the onslaught of the most unforgiving region on the face of the planet.

In his last moments, knowing that the end is near, did he ever regret his impetuousness? His audacity? His brazen defiance of all that stood taller, prouder, mightier than he? Some might call it hubris, that endearing yet ultimately infuriating and damning characteristic of all great Shakespearean and Greek heroes. And there’s one thing all heroes have in common, as well: they die, in the end.

I wonder about that increasingly these days, as I prepare myself for my first climb: Mt. Gulugud-Baboy. Yes, it’s only 300-or-so feet above sea level. And yes, it is, for all intents and purposes, a freaking hill. But I cannot escape the same sense of dread Mallory must have felt, all those years ago, when nature responded to his challenge. Will I fare better, I wonder, when Gaia throws down the gauntlet? Am I on a fool’s errand, wasting my bargain-basement life in attempting to conquer this… err… peak? Will I venture forth into that summit, only to be, like Mallory, never heard from again?

God help me, but I don’t care. I must do this. Because it is there.

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I can’t wait! Whee! Leave no trace, everyone! Whee!

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