The Ascent of Haba Snow Mountain

A ray of sunshine appeared through the snow. I stomped a pit with my feet on a small platform to have a rest. Then, I saw one of my teammates turning back, she could not go on. She started to descend with the help of our coordinator and we all felt very sorry for her. In fact, I felt like giving up, too, several times. But when I saw three of our team members approaching the top, I encouraged myself to keep going.

After the Desperate Slope comes the reward of the beautiful Moon Bay. To the left there are bold cliffs, and the highest part of the Bay indicates the summit of Haba Snow Mountain. I cannot remember how long it took me to reach Moon Bay but when I looked down, my teammates resembled tiny ants moving slowly.

The summit is very unassuming. If not for the wooden pole marked “5,396 meters” we wouldn’t have realized we had reached the peak. The blizzard was so fierce, the flag on the pole was frozen and the letters on it were blurred.

The first thing I did on reaching the summit was to ask one of my teammates to take my picture. Then I sent that short text message to my family. The temperature at the top was so low (about -15oC to -10oC) we were not able to stay there long. In the end, 18 of our 19 team members conquered the summit.

In all, we had covered a distance of about 20 kilometers from Haba Village to the summit. We started our descent the same day. On our way back, the sun shone, making the mountains look magnificent in the cloud and mist. Among the world’s great peaks, Haba Snow Mountain is just a drop in the ocean. Likewise, this adventure was just one stop in my life journey. Many destinations await me.