25.5.2007
Well, we were to have met up there on the summit of Everest, the Mayor of Prague and I, but alas it was not to be! As determined Czechs, we had set about our task with great heart and with near military precision – I was to attack from the Tibetan side; he from the Nepalese and we took judicious counsel – synchronizing the timing of our joint assault when wise women of several local meteorological institutions had surveyed the skies and predicted: “today, you may do it!”
On Chomolungma not everything runs to plan however and, very quickly, we had grown apart by a whole two days. I feel it was the generous gesture of a real gentleman for him to have allowed me to reach the summit first! In the end we missed each other as narrowly as Cimrman missed the North Pole – the first princess from the Czech Republic ever to set foot on the roof of the world arrived from the south followed, just a few days later, by her leading man from Prague, King of Everest, the Lord Mayor, Pavel Bem…!
I climbed back down the north face and he the south, without us ever having met, but somewhere high above, between us both, the Czech flag was triumphantly waving!
Perhaps inevitably, we both ended up in Kathmandu in the famous cult mountaineers’ pub, “Rum Doodle”, where the princess finally met her king – over a celebratory beer…!
And here the fairy tale ends. The princess is waking up…
In a week, I will be speaking Czech again and back with those who crossed their fingers back home, wishing that my summit attempt might be successful!
So thank you so much for all your kind wishes and for sharing this monumental experience with me on-line, and I look forward to seeing you all again very soon..!!
Back |
