Congratulations!

Welcome back!

Welcome back!  WM!

and Wow! for senior mountain climber!

Was leaving last camp  at 200AM advantage? considering weather including wind?

or

You just loved full moon,ha,ha!     KJ

Thank you 승자 님 and Dr. Hwang.

The 2:00AM start was due to the mandatory reaching the summit before noon

to avoid possible afternoon thunder storm and, then, returning to the trailhead 13 miles away in a day.

It was carefully pre-planned and everything worked out well.

Prior to the summit day, we were under the full moon.

The whitish valley turned even more whiter during the night. It was like a day time.

On the night of summit climb, the moon set beyond the Sierra Nevada ridge at about 1:50AM.

By the time we took the first step toward the summit, the moon was completely gone.

But, as we prepared, we used headlamps that lasted about 4 hours.

There was constant easterly wind that became colder as we went up higher.

It wasn't freezing though. I got myself very cold after giving my thermal jacket to a co-climber.

But the wind was no problem as it could be expected at the higher altitude.

It was a part of the deal we had accepted unconditionally prior to the attampt.

The dawn came at 6:00AM while we were at the crest of the ridge top.

We climbed while watching the summit lit by the dawn light.

I had climbed in the dark many times in the past but this one was very spectacular.

By then, I felt that reaching the Whitney summit would be successful for sure,

judged by our condition and the remaining distance of 2.5 miles in 800 feet.

We had to leave one member temporarily behind because he was so much tired,

He later cilmed the summit with another member after us.

I wrote the webpage yesterday afternoon in California and, now, I am sitting in my desk in Denver.

I am glad it's all over, for whatever reason, with one more mountain in my bag.

Congratulations !

What a acomplishment for Sepatgenarian !

Congratulations ! WM.

and congratulations to Mrs. as well.

Thank you for sharing with us such a great experience and

giving us, aging folks,  a rare vicarious pleasure.

Welcome back home WM !!

Wow,wow.

Congratulations, WM.

I always envy those who can climb up the high peaks.

동문제위의 격려와 축하에 감사드립니다.

I have a bad habit of turning a small dream into a big and difficult task.

But I 've seldom regretted to have done those things.

In a way I got into an addiction of feeling good and satisfied after it's all over.

It may sound crazy but the tougher, the better.

I will try to add a few more webpages regarding the preparations at Colorado Rockies

and the wonderful sceneries of the Sierra Nevada range.

I admire your spirit of challenge, and good health of course.

I wish I could do something like that at your age. I think that is a great achievement!

Why do you climb? It is a mystery for me. So far no one explained it with my satisfaction.

Epicurus taught us that you have to pick and choose pleasure and suffering.

Do not take everything just because it gives you pleasure or do not throw everything away just

because it makes you suffer. Do not do it if suffering after pleasure is greater than pleasure

itself. And take it if pleasure after suffering is greater than suffering itself.

The math tells me "do not do it".  But I think your computation is the other way around.

Is that right?

Doc, it is not a mathmatic calculation of which is larger, pleasure or suffering.

In this case of climbing (or similar activities), it seems to me that the reason for doing it

despite of hardship ( I wouldn't call it suffering) is the reward and satisfaction one gets

during and afterwards.

As you said, "But I think your computation is the other way around." is by your standard.

You must be giving a greater value to sufferings while I give much less.

To me, the rewards (the pleasure) are enormously greater than the sufferings.

The suffering is only momentary but the rewards last forever for the rest of one's life.
You probably will not know unless you have done it.

One has to have learned it to enjoy such challenges.

There are risks, inconveniences, and hardships in doing it

but climbers do not consider them to be anything significant in amount.

Your math and mine are actually exactly same. Nothing wrong in your or my computations.

Dear WM: That's amazing.

I admire you for your physical and mental prowess.

You are an inspiration to us, old folks.

Please keep up with your incredible feats.

You are special!

What an impressive scene at the summit of Mt. Whitney with Korean and the U.S. flags

in both of your hands splendidly in the early morning's crisp air.  

You are a man of courage and are exemplary in number of ways.

I admire your unaltering service to fellow companions around you.

I will keep in touch.

선배님들께;

Thank you for your kind words.

These chanllenges are salts and peppers in a bland soup. At least, it seems so to me.

I am finding some happiness, satisfaction, and passions to my otherwise-could-get-boring life of mine,

while and before the mileage of my physical and mental strength eventually runs out.

Someday, very soon, it will be all gone and I know it.

What a feat!

We know such decision is not from a mathematical calculation, especially at your age.

People make decisions from the heart sometimes, not necessarily from the brain.

Eric Liddel, a devout Christian who refused to run at 1924 100 meter Olympic Sunday event,

(true story behind the movie "Chariot's of fire") chose to give a sermon in the church on that Sunday.  

As a Christian missionary in China, he was detained by Japanese and ended in an Internment camp.

When Winston Churchill made a special deal with Japanese for his release as a POW exchange,

he chose to remain and would rather one Brish pregnant woman to get out in his place.

A few months later, he passed away in the camp, missing his family in London.

Some of these decisions came from the heart, a kind of mental things that only human can do.

Dr. Chough, yes, it came from the heart.

I would say it comes from a passion that overrides physical, social, or realistic reasonings.

Without such passions, our life will be listless and mundane.

To achieve the passion, we have take unwise risks.

With a life-long experience, the risk may be minmized. 

So, the adventurers think but, at times, it may not work out as planned.