The Proper Setting for Reading

A pair of years ago on one of my expeditions to Rainier, one of my climbing buddies snapped this photo of me in a shelter at 10,000 ft. The book in my hands is Edith Hamilton's "Mythology."

To place the photo in proper context, let me give you a bit more of the story:

I arrived at the mountain a day prior to my comrades. Feeling adventurous, I decided that an extra night at high elevation by myself sounded great. I donned all of my gear and climbed to 9,000 ft., where I made camp in the open under a sky of amazingly brilliant stars. It was windy and cold, but I read myself to sleep with "Mythology."

What better place to read about the legendary Olympians and Norse Gods than high on a mountain? These stories that pass down from generation to generation and remain inseparably a part of our own culture - it is easy to see where they come from when you are in the setting that I found myself that night. It was awesome.

The next morning I awoke early and pushed on to 10,000 ft, where I left my heavy pack at a quonset style shelter owned by the Park Service. I descended to meet my companions and help them push on to the shelter. After they arrived, we retired early, and due to extreme winds, we sought refuge in the shelter. So, with the wind howling in the background, I made them listen to more of "Mythology."

We awoke the next morning early and made an unsuccessful attempt at the summit - it turns out early October is a bad time because the glaciers have melted a great deal and the crevasses are difficult to navigate. We stared into the open jaws of several huge crevasses and were reminded of our insignificance.