On the Summit Stones & Adventure Musings blog - which is a great read and should be visited! - DSD wrote a great piece "Another Spirit within the Experience." In it, he relays a great quote by author Pat Ament on the spirit of adventure experiences.
Ament's thoughts and DSD's comments made me think of the upcoming holiday, which many - at least many here in Colorado - will spend in the mountains, enjoying the beauty of the Rockies, escaping the heatwave we've been enduring on the Front Range, and perhaps taking in a little adventure to go with the fireworks.
To that end, I thought I would share with you a passage from Eric Shipton, one of the greatest adventurers of all time in my opinion. This particular passage comes from Shipton's book, Upon That Mountain, and is one which begs us all to discover the passion in our lives, the spirit of adventure that calls us to our own, individual Everests:
He is lucky who, in the full tide of life, has experienced a measure of the active environment that he most desires. In these days of upheaval and violent change, when the basic values of today are the vain and shattered dreams of tomorrow, there is much to be said for a philosophy which aims at living a full life while the opportunity offers. There are few treasures of more lasting worth than the experience of a way of life that in itself is wholly satisfying. Such, after all, are the only possessions of which no fate, no cosmic catastrophe can deprive us; nothing can alter the fact if for one moment in eternity we have really lived.
- Jake Norton is an Everest climber, guide, photographer, writer, and motivational speaker from Colorado.
