Beyond the summit: An Everest adventure and Romance

by Linda LeBlanc

  Instead of falling asleep immediately afterwards, he turned onto his side and faced her. “We haven’t moved forward with wedding plans except to set a June date and that’s not very far off. My family keeps asking, but I told them you needed to get well first and finish the piece.”

  “And now it’s done,” she confirmed and tried snuggling up to escape his gaze, but he kept her at a distance studying her face. How could she say No to someone with such love in his eyes and who might be the very man she should or would marry? “Maybe we can look into some places this weekend.”

  “I think Carolyn already has,” he admitted. “She wants to show you.”

  The next morning, Eric’s sister drove them to a place on top of Lookout Mountain with an incredible view of the city and suburbs. “What do you think?” she asked.

  “It’s perfect,” Eric answered and looked to Beth for confirmation.

  “Yes, just perfect.”

  “Oh, I’m so relieved you like it,” said Carolyn. “But you have to make a deposit today. It’s only available because of a cancellation. I’ve had your name on a long list ever since Eric came back and told us you were engaged.” She threw her arms around Beth and hugged her. “Welcome to the family. We love you.”

  “I love you too,” came out so naturally it surprised Beth because she’d never said that to another woman. The relationship with her mother had shrouded most female interactions in distrust.

  “If you’re free next week,” Carolyn said walking back to the car, “I could help with the arrangements. You’re running short of time and there’s so much to do.”

  Caught up in Carolyn’s enthusiasm and enjoying the sisterly affection, Beth allowed herself to be carried along the next few weeks picking out the wedding gown, a dress for Carolyn as the only maid of honor, the invitations, cake, flowers, a photographer, and caterer. With everything suddenly taken care of and the reality of an impending marriage looming near while part of her heart was still roaming in the Himalayas, Beth panicked and called her editor seeking a momentary reprieve.

  “John, what do you have for me?”

  “I’ve got a month in the outback of Australia with an Aboriginal tribe but not until June. It’s too freaking hot now.”

  Her leg bouncing nervously, she insisted, “I need to go right away.”

  “They’re looking for someone to do a story and photograph this tepui in Venezuela.”

  “And what in the hell is a tepui?”

  “A kind of table-like mesa. Mount Roraima’s the tallest one, about 9200 feet.” Beth slumped forward with her forehead in her hand, picturing Dorje standing at the same elevation in Lukla. “Sure you really want to do this?” John asked.

  “Yes,” she answered, fighting back a well of tears. “And as soon as possible.”

  “I guess you could go this week but only if Eric is willing.”

  “He’ll go.”

  “Then see if you can also talk him into taking the Nam job.

  “What Nam job?”

  “Right now there’s the largest number of troops since the war began. We think something big is about to happen and we want Eric there.”

  “He knows about this?”

  “Yes and turned us down again. He’s lucky to get this second chance.”

  “I’ll speak to him.” After carefully researching Roraima, Beth waited until Eric was in a romantic mood.

  “Now? You’ve got to be kidding,” he said.

  “But I thought you loved exploring new places together,” she whispered snuggling up to him. “It’s one of the most spectacular mountains in South America and like nothing you’ve ever seen. There are 2,000 plant species found nowhere else in the world and endemic wildlife too” With a crooked smile, Eric leered at her out of the corner of his eye as she continued. “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle imagined prehistoric beasts roaming this fantastic landscape and wrote a book about it. Ever hear of The Lost World?”

  That stretched his lips into a broad smile. “I’ve always been a sucker for dinosaurs,” he said and rolled her onto her back with her arms pinned over her head. “And beautiful women.”

  At breakfast the next morning, Beth brought up Vietnam as promised. “It’s too damn risky right before the wedding,” he answered.

  “But it’s what you’ve been dying to do.”

  “You’re more important and I’m not going. So drop it. End of discussion.”

  She’d never seen him this resolute. It was flattering but drove the guilt gnats into a frenzy. With the wedding sweeping her along like a pile of wind-blown leaves and no more escaping to Venezuela to climb a tepui, she’d have to settle back to earth soon.

  Six days later, they reached the base of the stunning, sheer-sided mountain. Vertical walls of bronze sandstone skirted the huge plateau lifting it a mile above the rolling landscape. The next morning, Beth and Eric climbed through an ancient cloud forest inhabited by an abundance of orchids, prehistoric tree ferns, palms, and delicate flowers. On the summit, they crossed a black, craggy surface of naked, slippery rock and explored the quartzite plateau belonging to the oldest geologic formation in the world. Any guilt Beth had about bringing Eric here rapidly disappeared when he started shooting pictures of the endless labyrinth of surreal sandstone sculptured by sun, wind, and rain and blackened by a rock-encrusting lichen that covered every bare surface in all directions. “This is astonishing,” he exclaimed with the biggest grin she’d ever seen on his face.

  When a swirling cloud descended with little warning and closed around them, they quickly learned the high summits of tepuis create their own weather. Caught in an electrical storm with heavy winds and pelting rain, they retreated to their tent under a rock-ledge shelter and closed the flaps behind them.

  Eric zipped their bags together and crawled in with Beth who was shivering. “Shit, this is almost as bad as Nepal. Come here, Baby, I’ll keep you warm. I don’t know how you survived the cold in that avalanche.”

  “Wasn’t easy,” she said, treading water to keep her head above the memories suddenly flooding in.

  He opened the dam even wider. “Did you miss me all those cold nights alone?”

  Seeing the words floating by, she couldn’t answer without time to line up her emotions and examine them. After skillfully avoided doing so for months, she again took the coward’s way out. “Of course I did.”

  Even under the overhang, the temperature dropped as the wind whipped the tent walls. Shivering and listening to their incessant flapping brought back images of lying in Dorje’s arms. Engulfed in hot, choking tears, she could barely breathe. As Eric spoke lovingly of their future and how they could do the Australian job as a third honeymoon, Beth pretended to fall asleep. But her thoughts turned to Dorje, wondering what he was doing during the winter months when few tourists arrived. With no word from her, did he think she’d forgotten him, that he was only a diversion? Perhaps he sought the warmth and comfort of Shanti’s bed again or had even celebrated their dem-chang. The thought of making love with him again aroused every cell in her being, but doubts were gnawing at the back of her ever-too-rational mind. When caught up in the romance of the Himalayas, she thought she could stay forever. But this was her life: travel, exploring the far reaches of the world. It’s what brought her here and she couldn’t give that up. The man quietly dozing beside her was a good choice, but Dorje still had a firm grasp on her heart and wouldn’t let go. Rolling over, she buried her face in the pillow to muffle her tears.

  Exploring Roraima’s summit the next day, they took a circular route to the junction of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana. Thousands of white crystals littered sparkling pools of clear water and lush meadows stood among the stark rock outcroppings. Often shrouded in fog or mist, Beth and Eric spent three days documenting the landscape’s otherworldly feel. Totally fascinated by the enormity of the landscape, Beth was able to keep her feelings about Dorje in check but knew she’d have to confront them soon.

  Back in Denver, she hadn’t even unp
acked yet when the phone rang. “Hi, I’m ready to go. Wanna come along?” asked a voice that rose and fell in the most peculiar places. She’d heard it before but couldn’t place it.

  “Who is this?” she demanded, too tired to play guessing games.

  “Marty!” he chirped. “Ready?”

  A vague image of this strange man who had accosted her in Lukla popped into her head. “You’re talking about Everest.”

  “Yep. I signed on with an expedition and am going to the top. Told you I’d give you the real dope on the Sherpas.”

  Beth sank to the bed holding the phone to her ear, too stunned to speak.

  “You still there?”

  “Yes.”

  “So are you coming with me? We’ll have great fun-ness. I’ll be going back and forth from Base Camp, but you could stay there and I’ll bring frequent reports.”

  With a long, shaky exhale, Beth asked, “When are you leaving?”

  “Twelve days.”

  “I . . . I don’t know if I can be ready that soon.”

  “I’ve been calling for weeks but nobody answered.”

  “I’ve been out of town.” Still dazed, she opened the desk for a pencil. “Give me your number. I’ll have to think about it.”

  When he hung up, Beth fell backwards onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. Decision time. The intellect that had kept her sane through childhood and ruled her life ever since had done a perfectly good job, but she didn't want to listen now because her life had been painfully void of any real emotion. In Nepal, she had found missing parts of herself and learned she was capable of loving someone. Since her return, however, the damn intellect had been questioning whether she had simply been caught up in the romance of the place and time. This odd character with the crazy hair had just given her the opportunity to discover whether her love was real and capable of lasting. And she could do so without telling Eric about Dorje.

  Her stomach too bound up to eat at dinner, she dabbed at the mashed potatoes. “Got a phone call out of the blue today,” she began, forcing the words to march boldly out.

  Checking the movies, Eric didn’t look up. “Oh yeah?”

  “From this character at Lukla.”

  He slowly put the paper down. “Who are you talking about?”

  “I’m not sure you even saw him. You were off searching for our guide and porter.”

  “And how did this character get your phone number?”

  “Ohhh, I gave him my card because he said he was coming back to climb in the spring and would give me the inside story of Sherpas on Everest.”

  Hands folded, Eric leaned forward on the table across from her. “So is he going?”

  “Yes.”

  With an unwavering gaze fixed on her, he asked in an agitated voice, “And you?”

  She wanted to simply disappear and not have to go through this. “I told him I’d think about it.” Her stomach clutched waiting for his response. When he just sat there staring and not speaking, she felt like throwing up.

  Finally in a deliberate voice as if he were calculating each word, he asked, “When are you going and for how long?”

  “I haven’t said I would. I wanted to talk to you first. But if I did, we’d leave in twelve days and return around June 1. Climbers use a window just before the monsoon arrives.”

  Leaning on his elbows with his hands still clasped, Eric tapped his thumbs together impatiently. “Just two weeks before the most important day of your life and then assuming you don’t get sick again.”

  Eric was a good man but she had to listen to her heart too. Still not having the courage to call off the wedding, she said, “I won’t get sick and I’ll be back in time. This will cement my career forever. No one has described the climb from a Sherpa point of view other than Tenzing Norgay and his story was unique.”

  “I turned down the biggest shoot of my career so I wouldn’t endanger our wedding, but you think nothing of running off to Nepal again.”

  “It’s no—” she began but he held his hands up to hush her.

  “Forget it. I’m canceling the wedding.” He stood up and walked across the room and then turned. “I’ve been as accommodating as hell. I put up with your foolish wish to stay longer last time, but enough is enough. Go to Nepal. Do whatever it is you feel you must. And I’ll go to Nam for the shoot that will cement my career forever.”

  “And then what?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not sure how I’m going to feel after this and refuse to make any promises. I’m too angry now and might say things I’ll regret later.”

  As she watched him walk out the door, Beth wondered if she had just made the worst mistake of her life. “Eric,” she called running after him. “I won’t leave. I’ll stay here and we’ll get married as planned.”

  His back to her, Eric simply raised a hand. “Not now, Babe. The damage has already been done. Please just let me go without a scene and we’ll talk when we both get back.”

  But what if one of us doesn’t return,” she murmured to herself, feeling faint. “What would the other one do or feel?

  CHAPTER 25

  A jumble of emotions arrived with Beth when they landed in Nepal. She still felt guilty about choosing the trip over Eric, had no idea if Dorje had given up on her and married Shanti or fallen for another tourist, and wasn’t even positive she’d view him the same way now. Although her passion for him seemed very real at the time, what if the romance of an exotic setting and foreign culture had skewed her emotions?

  Intruding in her thoughts, Marty asked, “Hey, my lovely lady, why such quiet-ness?”

  She glanced at Marty who had shaved the hair growing down his neck and clipped the rest to a reasonable length. His socks now matched, albeit bright green, all in an attempt to win her over she presumed because he’d been coming onto her.

  “Just a few things on my mind.”

  “Missing your boyfriend?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The guy who put his arm around you at Lukla.”

  “Oh. He’s doing a photo story in Nam right now and couldn’t come.”

  Marty’s voice rose and fell as if on a swing. “So how about cutting expenses by sharing a room in town. Separate beds, of course. No hanky-panky-ness.”

  “Thanks,” she answered, trying to be gracious, “but my trip is paid for. They want a follow-up to the first successful story.” With his Bassett Hound droopy eyes, it was impossible to not like the man.

  After checking into the hotel, they met the other expedition members at dinner: two French men, three Brits, and two other Americans. Listening to their combined climbing experience, Beth felt confident they would make it. After a four-year ban on climbing by the Nepali government, Everest was once again under siege and so was her stomach when Marty announced to the others that they should hire this Sherpa he’d met last year. “He’s strong, brighter than most, and speaks very good English.” Marty then laid his hand on her arm as if they shared some special kinship. “Beth did this fantastic article on Sherpas last fall. I promised to help her finish the story and Dorje will be my liaison with the porters to get the inside scoop.”

  Hearing none of their conversation after that, Beth could think only of Dorje. Even if he was married, there was now a good chance she’d see him for an extended period. Marty had become her ally. “Have you been in touch with this Sherpa?” she asked out of nowhere, causing an abrupt halt to their climbing discussion.

  “No,” Marty answered, seeming somewhat surprised by her question. “There’s no way to communicate with them, but he said I could find him through this teahouse in Namche.”

  Pemba, Beth thought and let them continue while she attempted to get food down a quivering, nervous stomach.

  She and Marty shared the seat directly behind the pilot as they approached the airstrip at Lukla. She still marveled at how he calculated the angle of the short incline; however, the lump in her throat had nothing to do with landing but with the possibility
of seeing Dorje when she disembarked. Going down the metal stairway, she searched a huge crowd of porters.