Feeling Top at the Bottom of the World

Today we went for a long hike on land. It was a 2km hike to about 1000 meter height. It was an arduous climb and turned out to be a defining point of the expedition for me.

The three in the front of our hiking team was tethered to each other with a rope. The first person in the front made sure our path was clear of crevasses and unstable snow, while the ones tied to him acted as his safety incase he fell through. The ones behind the three had to walk up the slope in a single file, in the foot step of the ones in front. One misstep and you can slide down the steep slope onto the rocks on one side or the chilly water on the other side. By the time we got to the top, we were trudging through snow that was knee deep. But, we got to the top for an amazing view and feeling.

I learned an important thing myself in that hike and I also learned something about teamwork in that hike. I realized that I live for that one spectacular view, for that one accomplishment, for that special spot on the ledge. For that I can walk miles, month, years. I can block out everything else and zoom in on that one thing that I treasure and I want. In terms of teamwork, the whole hike took the entire team. The one in the front made sure our path was safe for the climb. The ones tethered to him made sure he was safe. The ones behind made sure we kept the pace and we didn’t leave anyone behind. We didn’t stop or delay for personal wants or needs, like stopping to take pictures, or taking breaks at each and every turn. That would have slowed down the entire team and would have possibly kept us reaching the top in the narrow window we had to finish the climb before the sunset. At the end all of us got to the top and got to enjoy the fruit of our labor together. The view we shared was breath taking. The bay with our ship was straight below us. Across the bay was high mountains and glaciers as far as the eyes can see. To the right of us was the most unstable glacier in Antarctica with so many cracks. It looked like a large cake, with white frosting, cut into many pieces at a birthday party. But I was most mesmerized by the long, single file trail that we made coming up the narrow ledge of the snow bank. That single foot trail, along with our determination, our discipline, our trust is what got us all safe to the top. The same trail and characters took us back to the ship in safety.