Everest for Children

EVEREST. By Gordon Korman. Book One: The Contest, Book Two: The Climb, Book Three: The Summit. Pp. 450 (three books), 2002. (Scholastic Inc., New York, $ 4. 50 each).

Everest as the highest mountain on our globe, and has attracted climbers for nearly a century. This year is the 50th anniversary of its first ascent by Tensing and Hillary in 1953. The attitudes, organisation and methods of climbing Everest – then and now – has undergone a vast change. The above three books, written as a fiction for children, reflect how the modern expeditions operate, inside details of present day expeditions challenging this great peak and it will be the pointer to the future. Sponsorships, commercial interests, and publicity are more important than spirit of climbing.

This is the story for young aspirants climbing Everest, to become the youngest summitter. The author, Gordon Korman, though clearly states, he ‘usually stays close to sea level’, has studied the mountain, its routes, present day heroes and scenario well to fit into the narrative. The race is to put youngest mountaineer on the summit, to better an age record established a year before. The climbers, some of who are barely 14 years old, join the race and ‘purpose of the expedition was advertising, after all’. Organiser ‘SummitQuest would be on the front page of every newspaper on the planet – which was the whole idea.’ Selection and training for the team is conducted at ‘the Summit Athletic Sports Training Facility in High Falls, Colorado’. There are medical interviews as psychologist prepare ‘Psych Profiles’ of these youngsters and after initial elimination rounds a team of four is selected to attempt the mountain. The reason youths are risking lives is to beat just one risk, ‘living a boring life’.

As they arrive at Kathmandu, Sherpa Babu Pemba receives them. Now they are in world of websites and e mails (not mountains) which regularly keep them in contact with the world, to keep them in limelight and pursue the stated aim of the expedition — publicity. Corporate logos, competition with the climbers from other nationalities, deceit and competition via e-mail contacts with ‘National daily’, are order of the expedition. They climb with ‘This Way Up’ expedition team and life revolves around http://www.summaathletic.com/everest, with various camps, routes and people featuring on the website with simple ‘CLICK HERE TO SEE’ button. If someone is suffering from HAPE the website ran a campaign ‘Send this baby Home’.

The climbers who ‘snacked on Summit Energy Bars’, sent by their sponsors ‘Summit Athletic Corporation’ proceed higher on the peak as two Nepali officials, who chase them in helicopter, fail to stop the under aged young. ‘The homestretch began’. Despite worst case scenario of a leaking oxygen bottle (sabotaged!) climbers reach the summit, as the leader congratulates with ‘You’re going to be in all the papers tonight. You ate this mountain for breakfast’. Their record is beaten in next two days and still younger members sneak up to the summit, despite leader forbidding them to do so. Due to a storm the second party is forced to descend via the North Ridge on the other side of the mountain, and missing the route they descend by the West Ridge and are rescued quickly.

This is a work of fiction, but except for the final traverse of the mountain (which would beat any Bollywood film story), everything else reads very real. The sport, particularly on Everest, has taken shape where a laptop is more important than an ice axe at the South Col and publicity of the climb is more important than the climb itself. These books are introducing the present day realities to the youngsters and one wonders what they with do in the future, on this ‘Greatest Blob on Earth’. Will they proceed on these lines or bring back the old spirit someday?

Harish Kapadia