Page 16 - Palm Beach Vol 6 No 3
P. 16

A World
Beyond the Office
By J.B. Harris
“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” ― George Mallory
16 | www.AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com
A er practicing law in Miami for more than 30 years and having survived a protracted divorce, I thought it time to  nally experience life beyond the o ce. I decided to go on an adventure rather than take a vacation. One to-
tally o  the grid. As far from emails, text alerts and the inces- sant hysteria of “Breaking News” as the Earth would allow.
As a regular watcher of the Discovery Channel, NatGeo and documentaries on mountain climbing like Meru, Everest IMAX, Sherpa and Beyond the Edge, for years I had dreamt of releasing my inner explorer to climb mountains. Finally, in 2014, the opportunity came along.
A year earlier, I resolved to reach the foot of mighty Mt. Everest, Chomolungma as the Nepalese call her, Goddess Mother of the World. At 5,380 meters, or 17,600 feet, Everest Base Camp is higher than any mountain in the continental United States. It’s the starting point for professional climbers who each year attempt the summit.
Once in Nepal, I met my guide in the teeming city of Kathmandu. Two days later, on a cloudless day, we hopped a 30-minute  ight to Lukla on a rickety twin-Otter aircra . Fly- ing over majestic Himalayan peaks to the Everest trailhead, we landed at the deadliest airstrip in the world, a 300-yard runway ringed by doomed aircra  that had crashed upon landing in bad weather.


































































































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