Food Feature: Following a dream

Summiting Mount Everest a life-long goal

If you are familiar with the tragic events that unfolded on Mount Everest in May 1996, as chronicled in the best-selling book Into Thin Air, you probably wonder why anyone would want to climb Mount Everest. Not only is it horribly difficult, requiring weeks of oxygen-deprived suffering in the most inhospitable of landscapes, but the chances of success are extraordinarily small and the risk of death is extraordinarily high. Some say that for roughly every five climbers who make it to the summit, one dies in the attempt.

And so we find ourselves in Kathmandu, Nepal, with a rare opportunity to gain some insight into what compels someone to make an assault on the world’s highest mountain.

We will be making a 20-day trek up to Everest Base Camp where, at over 17,500 feet, we will camp for three nights. As we trek into Base Camp, we will be joining an expedition making a summit bid. Among that expedition, is Mike Dunnahoo, a friend and fellow Atlantan who introduced us to the sport of mountaineering.

Dunnahoo recalls that his fascination with Everest began as a fourth-grader at Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Thomaston, Ga., where he saw photos of the first American ascent of Mount Everest in a copy of National Geographic. Since that day nearly 40 years ago, it has been a fermenting dream to come to the Himalayas and attempt to conquer this mountain.

To that end, he has become an accomplished mountaineer. Three years ago, when Dunnahoo successfully climbed Cho Oyu (located 20 miles west of Everest and one of the world’s highest peaks), the possibility of achieving his dream began to take hold.

As we talk to Dunnahoo over dinner about why he is here in Nepal, he describes his Everest attempt as an “opportunity to accomplish an uncompromised dream.” Dunnahoo is here because he has the chance to fulfill a childhood dream that he never abandoned and that he has worked mightily for many years to make happen.

Being true to his dreams and himself - that’s why Dunnahoo is here.

Follow Kelly and Rich Willis’ round-the-world travels by visiting their website at www.2goglobal.com. The globe-trotting couple files monthly updates on their adventures in Creative Loafing. Follow the progress of Mike Dunnahoo’s Everest 2000 expedition at www.Quokka.com.






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