Strange Notations From a Laborious Life

Another God awful day here in Canberra. Occasional showers, not very heavy but enough to disrupt outside activity for those seeking it.
I just watched “Conquering Everest”, the story of Hillary and Tenzing’s successful assault on the mountain in 1953.
It was all very inspiring and I admire the mental, physical and logistical achievement in getting to the top for the first time but I reckon the bloke who carried the camera up to camp 6 ought to get a gong too!
Every step at that height is a march to calvary and the pictures in the movie were incredible so it was good work all around from the team that was the first to be successful.
I’ve always had a passing interest in the history of Everest assaults. I guess it is the ultimate extreme sport though I believe if you have enough money most really experienced Everest guides reckon they can get you to the top, weather permitting, no matter who you are.
There is a very good book by Jon Krakauer called “Into Thin Air” that really goes into detail about the guided Everest expedition industry of the 1990’s and how competitive it was and how greed cost lives on the mountain.
For those who might recognize the name Krakauer wrote “Into the Wild” which was also a terrific book and was adapted into a pretty good movie by Sean Penn. I’m hoping “Into Thin Air” will get the same treatment one day.
Krakauer was a writer for an American outdoor magazine and managed to get them to pay for a spot on an Everest expedition for him so he could write an article about guided trips up the mountain and those who paid for them and the guides who took them.
Krakauer is a very experienced mountaineer so it wasn’t as though he was letting himself in for something he couldn’t handle. He managed to summit Everest but on the way down a huge storm hit and many in the party and in a rival group who were also attempting to summit that day got caught out and 13 people died. Krakauer got more than he bargained for and managed to write a best seller about his experience!
Recommended reading for those who might be interested.
As for myself today has been another quiet day. Had to go and feed a friend’s dog among the mansions in O’Malley and haven’t really done too much else except watch the aforementioned documentary on Mt Everest.
Linda sent me a text message about an hour ago saying that she and the girls were just leaving Paddington so I would imagine they won’t be home for a good three or four hours depending on traffic and lunch stops.
The showers seem to have passed for the moment so it might be time for me to make an attempt at doing a few things in the yard that I have been putting off before another shower comes across as it surely will on a day like today.
Also have to pick up my sister from work so I will sign off because I know if I dawdle and think too much the day will seem to take on a concertina effect and it will be dark before I know it!
Bye for now.