Dead Lucky by Lincoln Hall Read Free Book Online

money to fund Christopher, Richard, and Mike on a packaged expedition that left Kathmandu for Tibet on April 10, only seven weeks away. The implication was that more funds would have to be raised for me to join the team. Richard’s celebratory e-mail was an invitation to a barbecue at his home the following day, which I happily accepted.
    Not all of this was news to me. I was aware that Richard had been researching Everest expedition operators on the Internet and had decided that the best value was 7Summits, an Amsterdam-based operation run by Harry Kikstra. Richard was very keen for Christopher to tackle Everest in pre-monsoon 2006, as success would make him the youngest person to climb the world’s highest mountain, and suddenly their dreams would be realized. However, I was completely unprepared for the breakthrough when it happened because there had been little progress on the sponsorship front during the preceding six months.
    Those two e-mails on that Friday in February turned my life upside down. My first response was complete surprise, then sudden despair because it seemed impossible that I could join the trip. I felt that there was not enough time for me to ready myself, my family, and my employers for such a major undertaking. For the rest of the day I silently debated the issue while trying to do my work.
    I called Mike to hear the news in person and to confirm my role if we hit our sponsorship target. I mentioned my dilemma to Sam Gibbs, the equipment editor for Outdoor Australia. Sam was one of the few people at Emap publishing who knew that an Everest expedition was in the offing. I told her about my misgivings, all the reasons why I had to say no, particularly those that related to the magazine. But she wouldn’t have any of it. The publishers would have to let me go, she said, for the pragmatic reason that it would be good publicity for the country’s leading adventure magazine.
    That night I talked to Barbara. The decision had huge implications for her as well. She worked three days a week at a girls’ school in Sydney, a significant distance from our Blue Mountains home. She had not changed her mind about supporting me, even though it would be a very hard two months for her. As well as her work and the commuting involved, Barbara would have to run the household, drive Dorje to his ice hockey matches and training, and keep Dylan on track with his studies in his final year of school. She offered me every encouragement, and I loved her even more.
    When we turned up at the Harris family home the next afternoon, Richard was already busy at the barbecue, alternately chatting about Argentine wines and the Everest expedition. He was obviously delighted by the course of events. The hot tub was soon full of teenagers and children—among them were our two boys, Christopher and his brothers Nick and Ben, and his sister Katherine.
    Two climbing friends invited by Richard had no doubt that I would be joining the team. I pointed out the difficulties created by the ridiculously short time-frame.
    Neither of these two very experienced climbers would accept that argument.
    â€œYou’re almost there,” said Adam Darragh, a professional climbing guide who knew the challenges of getting Himalayan expeditions under way. Adam had guided the Harrises on New Zealand’s Mount Cook, when Christopher became the youngest person to have climbed the formidable peak. “It will all come together by the time you have to go.”
    â€œEven if that’s true,” I said, “I need seven months to get fit for Everest, not seven weeks.”
    Harry Luxford chipped in with his take on the issue.
    â€œI know your plan,” he said. “You’ll get fit hiking to the mountain, and by carrying loads up those glaciers.”
    â€œDoesn’t work in Tibet,” I answered. “At least, it doesn’t with Everest. It’s not like Nepal, where you trek in for a week. You drive to