The Last Climb

Anil was a really renowned mountaineer. He had a lot of experience in his life regarding mountain climbing. He retired after climbing the Kanchenjunga. He was an inspiration to so many people. The youth looked at him as an inspiration for them as he not only was an excellent mountaineer but he also shared a lot of life lessons and motivated people to face the challenges of their life head on. He was often invited to many renowned colleges and companies to inspire the people and share his experience with them.

This was another such day when he had been invited to deliver a speech in a college. He went up the stage and saw the faces of so many young students whose faces were glowing with the desire to learn important life lessons from him. Anil took the microphone and looked around at the audience and started speaking.

“Hey kids, my name is Anil and I am a mountaineer. I have climbed many mountains and seen many wonders in my life. But I have also suffered a lot and learned a lot.

You see, life is not easy. Life is full of suffering. Everyone suffers in some way or the other. You might think life would be better if there was no suffering, only peace and love. But you are wrong.

Yes, you heard that right!

You are wrong because suffering is necessary for progress, progress is necessary for development and development is necessary for a bright future. Without suffering, you cannot grow strong. Without suffering, you cannot achieve anything. Without suffering, you cannot really live.

Suffering is everywhere and you have to face it. Whatever you do, have or are, there will be some pain involved, there is no escape. But pain is good, useful and powerful. Pain makes you move, try and learn.

Pain is the best teacher, motivator and friend.

Pain tests you and your relationships. The ones who survive all the turbulence are the strong ones and that’s true for both person and relationships. 

Let me tell you how pain taught me, motivated me and befriended me in my life.

It was the last climb of my career, the hardest and most dangerous one. It was the summit of Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world. It was my dream, passion and hope.

I had prepared for this climb with my team of four other climbers, who were my friends and partners. We had trained, planned and supported each other. We had shared our vision, passion and hope.

We started our climb from the base camp and suffered a lot along the way. We suffered from the weather, terrain and air. We suffered from fatigue, hunger and thirst. We suffered from the avalanches, crevasses and falls.

But we did not give up, lose hope or stop trying. We helped, encouraged and motivated each other. We overcame every kind of suffering, reached the checkpoints and gradually made progress.

We reached the final camp and only one day was left to reach the summit. We rested, ate and hydrated. We checked our equipment, route and weather. We discussed our strategy, timing and safety.

We decided to start our climb at midnight and hoped to reach the summit by sunrise. We packed our backpacks, put on our gear and tied our ropes. We had said our prayers, wished each other luck and hugged each other.

We left the camp and started our climb.

We climbed in the dark, cold and silence. We climbed with our headlamps, ice axes and crampons. We climbed with our strength, speed and skill.

We climbed with our heart, soul and spirit.

We climbed for ourselves, our team and our dream.

We climbed the last climb of our lives.

We finally reached the final stretch and saw the summit. We at last saw the peak, unfurled the flag and tasted glory.

We did it, made it. We had achieved our goal, dream and hope.

We smiled, feeling joy and pride. We raised our arms, feeling victory and relief. We heard the cheers, feeling gratitude and respect.

We celebrated, feeling happy and fulfilled.

We heard the gunshot and felt the pain.

We saw the blood, wound and bullet.

We heard the scream, panic and chaos.

We were shot and attacked.

We were targeted and hated.

We had been victims, martyrs.

We looked around and saw the gunman. We saw his scary face, dreadful expression and eyes red with hatred. We saw his hate, anger and madness.

We recognized him and understood. He was our rival, enemy and nemesis.

He was a climber and hated to lose.

He tried to stop us, kill us.

But he failed and lost.

We looked at him and felt pity and sympathy. He had nothing and no one. He had wasted his life, ruined his soul. He had not understood us, the spirit.

We turned away from him, feeling freedom and hope. We had everything, everyone. We had lived our life with good intentions and saved our souls. We loved our spirit, ourselves.

We closed our eyes, feeling peace and calm. We thanked the spirit, ourselves. We were thankful for the climb, the dream.

We were thankful for the last hope.

That is my story, kids. That is how I suffered and learned in my life. That is how I lived my best life.

Now, I want to ask you, kids. What is your story? What is your dream? What is your hope?

How will you suffer and learn in your life? How will you live your best life?

You can think of the summit of the mountain as your goal, dream and hope. You can think of the climb as your journey, challenge and opportunity. You can think of the spirit as your guide, friend and teacher.

You can climb any mountain, achieve any goal, fulfill any dream, realize any hope. You can overcome any challenge, face any setback, endure any adversity. You can be strong, resilient and hopeful in any situation.

You can have the strength of human spirit in your life. You can live your best life.

You can have the hope, the last hope.”

Anil took a pause for a few moments and there was complete silence in the auditorium. Then, after taking a deep breathe, Anil broke the silence and said,

“Thank you for listening to me, kids. I hope you learned something from me and will remember me. I hope you will be inspired by me and will inspire others.

I hope you will have the strength of human spirit in your life. I hope you will live your best life.

I hope you will have the hope, the last hope.”

Everyone clapped and cheered for him. All the students had tears in their eyes and so much inspiration in their hearts. Each student resolved to themselves that they would be strong in their journey of life and not only this, they would also inspire others in their journeys.