Camp 4 to the Summit was not looking real good as an option as I was exhausted from my the climb that got me to Camp 4!

From somewhere outside our tent a voice yelled out to get ready for a 9pm departure, which gave us 1 hour to prepare for a night that we had been expecting, but never wanted! Clothes needed to be layered, fluids and nutrition gathered, hand warmers activated, and skin protective lotions applied! As we went about our actions my mind wandered to the task at hand. Was I ready to do this? Had I recovered adequately from the exhaustion of the trip from Camp 3 to Camp 4? Did I have the strength to move onwards and upwards all night long? What if I backed out now ... would I have another chance to go for the summit?

It was time to go and we slowly extracted ourselves from the warmth of our tent into a violent windstorm which had dropped the temperature quite significantly! Faceless voices were barking commands, headlamps were beaming lights everywhere, and the howling winds just added to the confusion! Someone grabbed me and pointed me in the direction of where the other headlamps were aimed and off I walked! Just minutes prior to departure I met my sherpa, Dhorjee, and was told that he would be with me to the summit, and back! Sure enough within minutes "my shadow" fell in behind me on the trail. Dhorjee would maintain that position to the summit of the world and I came to feel comfortable that he was there for me ... should I ever need help!

The climb throughout the night was made much more difficult by the blowing snow that was whipped up by the tropical storm force winds. Although the skies were clear and stars could be seen, the view was often obstructed by the snow which slapped my face without warning! The ascent was slowed by the acute angle of the trail and the pace of the climb was dictated by individual conditioning! Each of us had our own limitations and would walk a certain number of steps before we had to stop to catch our breath. No one was pushing us, no one was saying to speed up or slow down. My body told me what to do, but my mind was somewhere else! It was trying to out-trick the body to convince it that all was well .. good luck! Additionally, our jumar devices were used to help "pull" us up the mountain as we rythmically moved the aid to "lock and release" on the safety line that lay ahead of us. Our patterns became repetitive and were well rehearsed. Clip in, clip out, clip in ... this was what we did to assure our safety on the fixed ropes! Make sure that we were safe by keeping connected to the fixed lines. Clip in, clip out, clip in ...

The first time I managed to look at my watch it was already 12:30am! Wow, we had been climbing for over 3 hours and I had not even taken a drink of water nor had I eaten any nourishment! A Nalgene bottle was retrieved from deep inside my down jacket for a long drink of water and a power bar was half devoured. No time to rest, need to keep going! Up until now the only thing that could be seen clearly was that of the back of the person in front of you as this was within the range of the headlamp! As you looked up the mountain you could see a parade of headlamps that were climbing as you were, slow and easy!

At about 3:00am I started to see the first evidence of light in the east and this warmed me somewhat as the thought of the coming sunshine was something to look forward to in the early cold hours of the morning! The "balcony" was a staging area for changing out of our oxygen tanks and gave us a short moment of rest, but then it was onwards and upwards! As late night changed to early morning the rising sun started to give shape to our surroundings and for the first time I had a glimpse of how exposed we were as we climbed. I say that I had a glimpse as that is all that I would do as I did not want to scare myself too much due to my fear of heights. The worst thing that could happen to me now is for me to "freeze up" on the side of this mountain out of fear! I purposely avoided looking to my left or right and kept my eyes focused straight ahead on the trail and the safety line! There was no way that I wanted to see how high up I was, and how perilous it looked ... although I had more than a sneaking suspicion that I was in "way over my head"!

As I approached the South Summit and the Hillary Step my pace had slowed most noticeably as I was now more aware of my surroundings, and the severe drops in altitude that seemed to be everywhere! It appeared like the angle of the mountain was becoming more acute as I climbed higher! I am sure that the altitude helped slow me down somewhat as I was now close to 29,000 ft., had been climbing steadily for about 12 hrs., and was ready for it all to be over! My sherpa was now urging me to move forward, even though my feet shuffled me along like an old man! And suddenly, there it was, the summit! I could see my friends on the top and it was definitely within my reach, only minutes away! I consciously took my time now as I wanted to enjoy these last few steps to the top of the world. The top was small and adorned with hundreds of multicolored Nepalese prayer flags. There were only a few people ahead of me on the summit and I was happy to see that all were my friends! I reached the summit and after a quick glance over the edge to make sure that there was nowhere else to go ... I sat down for a well-deserved rest!

Wow, I was finally here after 8 years of planning and 7 years of climbing the 7 highest mountains on the 7 continents of the world! I had so many people to thank, and so many things to be thankful for ... but first I had to call Carol and let her know that I had made it! I dug my satellite phone out of my down jacket, removed my down mitts, and pressed the key pad numbers to connect to her in Columbia, SC. It was 9:30am 5/24 on top of Mt. Everest, and 11:45pm 5/23 in Columbia. We connected and despite the 40mph winds, and 40 below zero temperatures, I was able to tell Carol that I had made it to the top of the world! The conversation was short as it was difficult to talk, but the message was clear ... I had made it, I had made it! 

Phonecall completed I decided it was time for photos to memorialize the event! I dug deep again for my digital cameras and offered them to my sherpa, Dhorjee so he could take pictures of me with some of my sponsor regalia. I pulled off my snow goggles in order to place another cap on my head for the photos and was blinded by the sunlight. The flash of light was acutely painful and something I had never experienced before? I quickly refitted my goggles, and then moments later removed them again only to be blinded again by a searing pain from the suns rays! Within a minute I discovered that I could not see out of my right eye, and my left eye had become very blurred! I tried to tell Dhorjee that something had happened to my eyes, but he spoke little English and at 29,035 ft. in 40mph winds at 40 below zero has was unable to understand my maniacal gesturing!

What had happened? What was going on? Why could I not see out of my right eye, and why was my left eye blurred? Where was everybody? Who could help? All of these questions and more were on my mind, but not able to be answered. Within minutes my joy and exhiliration of a successful summit had been turned to sheer terror as I was now partially blind. All I knew for sure was that I had a major problem here, and I was alone on top of the world.

To be continued ...