Lessons from Everest Sharing Life Lessons from the Summit of Mt. Everest

Mt.Everest and my snapping turtle progeny

18500' in the Everest icefall with a dopey looking hat

OK, Let me start at the beginning.  I am visited each spring by large mommy snapping turtles who are fixated on having their babies in my driveway sand.  I suppose they were born here and return to the place of their birth to return the favor.  After researching the gestation time of this particular species of amphibian [OR ARE THEY REPTILES?], it was determined that the little cuties would be born sometime in early October.  The first few years at the homestead, I would set up elaborate fencing to 'protect' the hallowed birthing area but never saw anything hatch....till this year.  The usual riotous arrival of the gravid mom would throw the household into a tizzy, complete with shoeing away the curious dog and cat.  In keeping with the usual bad-mothering practice of previous years, the dinosaur-like carapaced mom decided to plant the progeny in a pile of crushed blue stone that I use for building stone walls.  So anyway, I thought no-way would the eggs survive and promply forgot all about them for 6 months.  It just so happened that I decided to dig up the pile with the loader on my tractor last week when I noticed ten wriggling very stinky 2 inch baby snappers!   I was mesmerized initially, but scrambled to bring them to the nearest swamp [my side yard 50 yards away] .  I sat and studied them for awhile in amazement and even had eye contact with one particularly intelligent looking chap.  I noticed that the turtles had various degrees of energy and fear [some hardly came out of their shell].  As they scurried about I remembered one of the most common questions I get when giving a climbing or Mt.Everest  presentation: Why?  I suddenly had the answer that always escaped me:THE MORE YOU STICK YOUR NECK OUT THE FASTER AND FURTHER YOU GO. 

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