House C's Summit in Sight

Jordan Romero suggests that we "find our Everest." House C is excited to announce our fall field trip on September 17 to see what we can see from the highest summit in Vermont: Mt. Mansfield. Your student should be bringing home a yellow permission slip for this adventure. If for some reason you have not seen said permission slip, here is a link to a copy (which also has more information about the trip)!

Please return the permission slip by Friday, September 4! We must have a permission slip on file in order for our learners to attend.

No Summit, Week 4: "On top of the world"

And so here we are: at the ending.

Order of Events

I'll be interested to hear what you all think of how the book is structured. It makes a certain amount of sense that the book proceeds in the order of Jordan's mountain climbs - at the same time, the Everest climb felt like such a climax that the final climb seems like an afterthought. I wonder if there could have been another way to structure it so we could end on that high, thrilling note. Or maybe the Vinson climb needed more detail. I found it surprising that there weren't more difficulties or details. How else could the book be structured?

That's the Power of Words

Something I've been thinking about since early on in No Summit is the support we sometimes need to tackle our goals. It's pretty clear to me that Karen and his dad are big supports on Jordan's journey, and there are often times where one of them says just the right thing that helps him keep moving and pushing himself. Could Jordan have completed his goal without the support, encouragement, and even the occasional shove of those two? 

Paul, Karen, Jordan & "King" Richard - image from kbhr933.com

Just as often, though, the words that come back to him are those of the guide on Kilimanjaro ("the mountain wants you to climb it."). This made me stop and think about the power of words. I doubt Samuel said those words thinking that Jordan would remember them for the next five years, but that is indeed what happens. As he's climbing Vinson, those words are coming back to him. Jordan is pretty lucky to have received such supportive, encouraging words from someone.

It made me think about the things we say to each other, the things that stick with us, even if the person saying them didn't mean for them to stay there. Here's a silly example from my life. 

A friend in college said that the way I eat ice cream cones was "disgusting." He said this, gasped, and averted his eyes. Years later (too many to count), that still sticks with me. To this day, I have to feel pretty comfortable with someone to eat ice cream in a cone in public. If I'm alone, no problem. But an offhand remark that someone said years ago still haunts me to this day. Did Joe mean for me to be thinking about this comment long after college? Probably not. If I asked him today, he probably wouldn't even remember the comment. But it has actively changed the way I relate to people (in an admittedly small, strange way).

You're probably guessing where this is going - what are the things we say to each other that don't go away? What are some things friends have said that have helped you in trying times? What about things said that still make you feel hurt, or angry, or bothered? How can we make sure that what we say to each other is positive and supportive? 

That's the thought I want to take away from this book as we start the school year on Wednesday: anything I say could have a bigger impact than I intended. I want to be aware and thoughtful so that those impacts are helpful. Not harmful.

I'll look forward to seeing you all soon! Perhaps even at tomorrow night's open house! 

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get a creemee. 

Three people in front of whom I can eat creemees.

No Summit, Week 3: "Yakety Yak"

Well, when I split the book into four sections, I didn't realize I would be leaving us on such a cliffhanger (so to speak). However, when we leave our dear Jordan, there are a lot of questions about how he'll proceed and how his father is doing. The avalanche that started the book finally makes its appearance, and, for this reader at least, it was a very engaging, nail-biting scene - even knowing that he obviously makes it out alive (since he wrote the book!).

This week, I found myself making note of some details I wanted to see. While I am finding that the book moves quickly, there are some images that I wanted to dwell on or have explained more clearly. Here are three examples:

Torma 
Romero identifies these as yak butter sculptures used "as offerings to the gods." Here's a picture of some torma.

Photo from www.explorersweb.com

Not My Favorite Way To Use A Ladder
Reading this scene (just reading it) made me queasy (I've never been known to be fond of heights). Unsurprisingly, it is just as queasy to watch...(skip to 1:21 for the nerve-wracking passage).

Did I Mention My Fear Of Heights?
Okay, the term "Tyrolean traverse" sounded intriguing to me. So I found this video of a Tyrolean traverse on the Carstensz Pyramid. It takes him a while to set up, but it's worth it to watch his traversing (especially the "look ma, no hands" part). 

The Final Countdown...
And with that, I leave you to our final week of our online book club. Let's get Jordan off Everest, shall we? If there is something you wanted to look up (or if you did look something up), post it below in the comments!

Enjoy the summer!!

No Summit, Week 2: "Against All Odds"

Welcome to page 199! If you are there, congratulations! From here, you are well over halfway through the book! If you haven't yet made it this far, there is still plenty of time.

This week, I was struck by the obstacles that Jordan has to overcome in order to reach his goal. There are the obvious things - like the mountains themselves - and the slightly less obvious things - like doubts from other people and officials denying permits. Then there is that inner wrestling that Jordan finds himself doing. Sometimes he is merely doubting himself while other times he might rather be skiing or playing with friends.

This made me think a lot about my goals and what obstacles I face. As some of you know, I enjoy writing poetry. On the computer I'm using today, there are at least 100 poems that I quite like. Eventually, I plan to put some of them together as a collection and try to get it published. But then the obstacles come in. They arrive in the following forms:

• self-doubt (are these poems really good enough?)
• what I think others may think about me (NOTE: this is not people actually saying my work isn't good; it's me worrying that they might not think it is good)
• distractions (I could put these poems together and find a place to consider them, or I could go for a walk, or read a book, or play a video game, or...)

So what are your goals?
What obstacles get in your way?
And...most importantly...what helps you overcome those obstacles? What do you see Jordan doing to overcome them?

So I was going to post a video of Phil Collins' super cheesy "Against All Odds" - as this week's treat. I thought about "Against All Odds" as a fitting title since this week is about obstacles, but then I saw something great. Watch what happens at 1:09 - Phil makes a mistake in front of this large audience. And then check out the way he handles it. What a pro. I never thought I'd say this, but...I want to be more like Phil Collins.

 Happy reading!

No Summit, Week 1: "Right, kid."

Right, kid.

Okay, so take this with a grain of salt, as I am an adult reading this book, but here's the first thing I was struck by:

How do the adults in Jordan's life let him do this!??!

As you certainly know by now, this book is told from Jordan's viewpoint. He seems to me to be a plucky kid, full of confidence and ready to challenge himself. I am intrigued by him, but my focus keeps falling to the adults in the book. I don't personally have kids, but I wonder how I would feel if my 10-year-old son asked to climb the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. Or how I would respond to him if I were Samuel. What would I think of this boy telling me he wants to go the hardest route up Kilimanjaro? Would I let him? Or would I laugh at him and say, "Right, kid. If you wanna climb the mountain by that route, you're going to have to get yourself another guide."

What do you think of Jordan? In what ways are you like him? In what ways do you differ?

For me, when I was ten, I thought I pretty much had the answer to everything. I quickly found that not to be the case, but I don't yet see that happening for Jordan. I did chuckle at what happened when he turned down his father's help on Mt. Kosciuszko, and I appreciated his understanding that climbers younger than him probably climbed Kilimanjaro without being acknowledged. But I will be looking forward to see if he continues to be as cocky or if he finds a bit more humility as he continues his quest. 

Globe Trotter

I am particularly enjoying the global aspect of this book. As I read, I'm keeping my internet open and briefly researching any names of tribes or places. I have appreciated seeing the pictures of Elbrus and Kosciuszko, as well as learning about the Masai tribe that Jordan mentions en route to Kilimanjaro (I can't bring myself to call it "Kili"). This research is enriching my experience of the book (though it also makes my reading take longer), and I look forward to learning more about the other continents as the book progresses.

Inspirations

While I am not currently attempting to summit seven or eight different mountains, I am finding plenty of inspirational moments in this book. If you found a quote you found particularly inspiring, feel free to post it (with a page number) below. Mine for this week is:

"Shelter makes all the difference in a storm." - p. 71. I might talk more about why I find that inspirational later. For now, I'll just leave it there and look forward to checking in with you all after Mount Aconcagua and Denali (after page 199). 

A Little Something For You

As a gift for reading Week One's entry, here's a picture of me at rock climbing school (age 12). I thought of this picture when Jordan spoke of the "Kissing Wall." How Jordan describes his experience there reminded me of this moment (though I was much closer to the ground (though definitely not much cooler)). 

Happy reading!