So I was talking with someone that came down on my flight and she realized that we've been down here three months. In that time I've done Hut Loop, Hut Point, Ob Loop, Scott's Base, Armatige Loop, and Castle Rock (at least to it). I have not done Observation Hill, the closest, easiest, no buddy necessary, look out your window every day and see it hike. Why? Maybe because it is so close and "easy." But that changed today when I finally did climb it.
Linda, Holly and myself all went up the hill, but to add new to exciting, we went up the back way which is not "illegal" but "frowned upon." There was still a trail, but there were moments when the slabs of rock gave way under your foot in a cascading waterfall that slid down the hill. Or when your foot just kept trying to reach something solid as everything seemed to softly give way and you clung on with only your pinky in sheer terror. Thankfully I'd had those two climbing classes so I knew just how to cling onto the rock face as my feet went skiing. What made the life on the edge amusing was that Holly, our nominated leader of this adventure, chatted the whole time, moving nimbly from mound to rock, in tennis shoes now less, as if we were simply taking a stroll and not trying to free hand a rock face. I think her talking kept me from thinking about dying. What a distraction.
Half way up the trail
View half way up
Surviving the climb
As the youngest and slowest of the group, I brought up the rear, snapping photos along the way.
Nearing the summit
Memorial of Time
I'm getting there
At the summit
McMurdo from the top
The view from the top put all serious matters into a much smaller scale, and taking a deep breath of the crisp air, all worries floated away. Looking out at the surrounding area, the beauty was humbling. I took a moment to dwell upon the human ability to rise to great heights and the reward that is there when you stay alive to reach the top.
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