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Elia Saikaly
@eliasaikaly

102,026 followers

Death and rebirth. . This was the end for me. The point of no return. Just an hour earlier, dozens of rocks were catapulted towards us at terminal velocity like bullets, each could have seriously injured or killed us. Intentional? I do wonder. We were lucky none of us were harmed. And to top it off, this is the finale photo at the bottom of the hill appropriately sitting in a pile of snow dislodged by an avalanche. All a reminder of the unforgiving nature of these mountains. . The death I speak of is that of the wounded boy. The unhealed parts of myself from long ago, reflected back at me while standing on the summit of K2. To this day I remain ashamed of being there. I’ve had to reconcile that. It’s an odd thing when you summit a mountain like K2 because you have to. We passed our friends who died unnecessarily. It was a fiasco rooted in a senseless ego race to the summit of the savage mountain. The ripple effect of loss on loved ones is nothing less than a Shakespearean tragedy. The depths of my literal investigations became an unintentional excavation into my own shadow and psyche. My pain was my map. Eventually, after near self destruction by way of repeated and intentional trips to hell and back, the boy parts died and the man emerged. Understanding and awareness was the elixir I returned with. The unconscious became conscious. Thank you to the souls who helped me reach the other side. . Today, I watch with a lens of fascination. The current state of affairs of commercial high altitude mountaineering - the record seeking peak baggers and overall all INC. of the Sacred, stacked with the historical and systemic complexity that fuels it, combined with the annihilation of what was once a respectable ethical sport - is now a circus. And many are being duped. Many drank and continue to drink the Kool-Aid. As with other industries, there are some who believe the facades and worship the false Gods. We ignore the writing on the wall, refuse to see or read it. . Pay attention, it’s juicy out there. 🍿 . #Mountaineering #K2winter2021 #k2 #Himalayas #Winter #mountaineering #8848 #topoftheworld #🍿.