His breaths come up short, the air too thin. He takes a drag from the oxygen to clear his mind and flush some life back into his numbing muscles.
The mountain’s peak rises before him, magnificent and indifferent. Not caring if the little party of people scaling its body reaches the top or not. Unbothered by the prospect of them turning to tiny frozen corpses in its snow.
He wonders for a moment why anyone would do something so dangerous and at such expense. There is no reward in it. Little in the way of recognition. If he wanted the view, he could have just looked through the feeds of the drones they send up there.
It’s because no one has done it before. That’s what drives him and the others up there. That is what has driven humanity to all the places it has been, for better or worse.
He sets off again, trudging through the snow.
Paddy Dobson
11th October 2022