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Volume CXXXII, Number 15 |
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Webster discusses voyage to Everest
ALEC SCHLEY
STAFF WRITER
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| Ed Webster, who climbed Mt. Everest, spoke in Searles on Monday. (Courtesy of Ed Webster) |
Combining historical anecdotes of mountaineering and stories of his own adventures in the Himalayas, local author Ed Webster discussed the experience of climbing Mount Everest to students, faculty, and members of the Brunswick community on Monday, February 9. The lecture was called "My Storm Years on Everest: A Slide Show about the History of Climbing Mount Everest."
Webster began his presentation with his own biography. A native of the greater Boston area, Webster discovered his love for mountaineering at age 11 when his mother bought him a book called Everest Diary. Reading about mountain expeditions became Webster's passion, and soon he too began hiking and rock climbing in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Webster continued as an avid climber from early adolescence into his adult years, gathering the experience necessary to make both exciting and dangerous expeditions. The most remarkable of these journeys took place in the 1980s, when he made three different attempts for the summit of Everest. While Webster never got to the top, his 1988 route to the summit was on terrain never before hiked.
Most of Webster's discussion related to his 1988 expedition, and he included many photographs of his ascent. Webster's story was one of jaw-dropping feats and peril. Webster described how, on his last day of his ascent to the summit, he began to hallucinate. Suffering from oxygen depletion, the line between illusion and reality for Webster became ambiguous. He passed out twice. Upon regaining consciousness, Webster told the audience, "I got some reality in my head." He decided to turn around only about 300 feet away from the summit, a decision that probably saved his life.
After he completed the slide show, Webster offered to answer questions. One member of the audience asked Webster what he thought of the 1996 Everest disaster, upon which the book Into Thin Air is based. Webster lamented what he called "a misguided financial incentive to keep climbing." Webster added, "The mountains will always be there. The trick is for you to be there, too."
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