In One Frame

The Summit

Out of 7 people that summit Everest 1 person dies.

With a strong gust of wind, icy flakes started forming at the ends of my hair making me freeze as if it was white everywhere. My vision blurred as I try to grasp the ropes to balance my tilting body toward the carpet of ice.
It was a blizzard that pushed them to hold onto the rope tightly it became unbearable to the point he only wants to let go and be swayed by the wind but no kept on trudging, dragging his feet onwards.

The winds howled like death calling them. The worse was they can hear the rumbling of the ground and a few seconds later he heard somebody shouting.

"AVALANCHE!!!"

" Fuck!" - Tay

I muttered to myself, quickly on reflex I held on to my pick axe, digging my crampons in snow and grabbing ahold of the rope I had placed my carabiners so I would not fall out of line.

*Crampon - metal plate with spikes of a boot for hiking on ice or rock climbing.

*Carabiners - a shackle used to bind the rope for climbing.

I prepared for any impact hoping no stone would fall onto me and cause a crack on my head which results in death. Trying to shield my head while grabbing onto the rope for my dear life.
One foot forwards one foot on the grave just to summit Mt. Everest.

Tay Tawan Vihokratana a seasoned mountain climber,  was his passion to climb high peaks. A Thai national attempting to summit Mt. Everest for a second time.

For me, this has become an oath to reach my limits, so I trained a lot for this. 5 years ago I summited Everest and now here I am again summiting but not alone New was with me. Summiting together was our goal for this year after being married for 4 years we decided to take a sabbatical together, New was a Business Professor at Chulalongkorn University. I must be puzzling how we'd met when I got all around the world mountain climbing.

I met him on my first expedition to Everest, he was part of the American team that ascended Everest, their team comprises Luke and Joss fellow half American half Thai nationals. They were his long-time friends from college and just like me shared an interest in mountain climbing and they've been doing it for quite a while now enough to climb the treacherous mountain.

When I first saw him wearing that bright red fleece jacket waving his hands and smiling cutely at the Everest Base Camp. I thought he was waving at me but it was at his friends. I think I just got secondhand embarrassment by myself so I just kept to myself in hopes he didn't notice me almost waving back to him, between the cold winds and the Sherpa's scurrying for camp.

*Sherpa - Nepali Mountain Guides

But when I turned to look around, let's face it he was mesmerizing to look at. He was smiling back at me and I thought Everest could not get any warmer. I think he melted all the ice that covered the landscape around us. He even melted me too.
I see him chuckling before I turn my back out of too much embarrassment.

"You are here to climb the peak not climb into somebody's bed, Tawan get a grip!" - Tay

"Well, I don't mind you climbing my bed though but before that, we should climb the summit first, hehehe" - New

I stared at the deep low voice coming from my back and when I turn to respond it was him, smiling mischievously at me.

"Hiiiii!!!!! Tay....Tay my name is Tay!" - Tay

I nearly screamed my lungs out, like an excited teen meeting his crush for the first time, I think I would scream would definitely. But I was trying to hold it in as I removed my glove and reach for a shake.
He did the same snickering and then got me confused when he grabbed my glove and waved it in front of me.