ALAN RETURNS TO EVEREST

Everest’s staggering immensity as seen through Buddhist prayer flags from atop nearby Mt. Kalapatar, Nepal, at 18,500 feet.
©Alan Hobson, 2007

The 14-day trek to Everest’s 17,500-foot-high base was dubbed “Everest Rocks.” It was punctuated by many magnificent moments, among them the staging of the world’s highest musical concert ever performed on land. On ct. 21, six members of our trekking team, who were also well-known rock musicians, belted out some literal high notes from a rock platform atop Mt. Kalapatar, at 18,500 feet, with Everest as a backdrop. The performance went into the ®Guinness Book of World Records.

When it was over, I was able to perform what I believe was the world’s highest press-to-handstand – a gymnastics move that represented seven years of focused rehabilitation after my adult blood stem cell transplant on Nov. 15, 2000 for the treatment of acute leukemia (a very aggressive cancer of the blood).

Alan and fellow trekker and cancer survivor, Christine Alan, en
route to the high point of her own climb back, with Mt. Everest
bearing witness to her remarkable achievement.
© Alan Hobson, 2007

But even these two experiences were eclipsed by two others. The first was when I got to accompany trekker Christine Alan, of Dallas, TX., who was just six months out of treatment for breast cancer, step by challenging step all the way up to the summit of Mt. Kalapatar. It was a Herculean effort for her and a literal and figurative high point in her own climb back from cancer.

The second experience was an encounter with a terminally-ill patient in the cancer hospital in Kathmandu. At her bedside I was able to take her hand, meditate for her and watch as her face gradually transformed from one of anxiety and fear to peace and tranquility. Slowly, a sweet smile spread across her visage. She did not want me to leave, but unfortunately I was called away to a press conference in another part of the hospital. After it was over, I returned to her bedside with some food I had received at the press onference. She motioned for me to put my head on her bed and when I did, she gently ran her fingers through my hair for several minutes. This was the single most powerful experience of the trip and was the whole reason, I believe, that I had been invited to join the trek.

Alan and a Nepalese cancer patient share a magical moment during a brief visit to the palliative care ward of the cancer hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal.

It showed me that it is possible to communicate compassion without saying a word and that our mere presence can be enough to bring comfort to another. Silence can speak volumes. Now, when I am asked, as I often am, what to say to a severely or terminally ill loved one, my answer is simple: We don’t have to say a thing. All we have to do is be there for them. These and other unforgettable moments, some of grace, some of challenge (I developed a sinus infection and had a good bought of food poisoning during the adventure), were like messages from Chomolungma, the Tibetan word of Everest meaning “Mother Goddess of the World.” In her wonderful way, the mountain was bidding me goodbye but ushering me onwards towards a new personal peak – one not as apparently immense as Everest, but perhaps more meaningful. When I returned home, I called Wellspring Calgary, a cancer support organization based in Canada, and volunteered to be a Climb Back from Cancer Coach. For the fourth time in my life, the mountain that has transfixed me since I was a boy had once again taken me to greater heights. My return to Everest was more than a peak experience. It was a life- changing one.

Alan and his CAN / WILL mantra come together at the top of the
world as The Mother Goddess looks on. Banner courtesy of Alan’s
dear personal friend, Debbie Baylin, www.artalacarte.org.
©Alan Hobson, 2007

To view photos, stories, blogs and exciting professionally produced daily video podcasts of the trip, go to www.everestrocks.com.