How Perfect Was That Day?

If you believe, or only read the NNormal marketing blog then you might be led to believe that Kilian had:

…a perfect day on the west ridge of Everest…

on his recent trip to the Himalayas.

In Kilian’s own words:

“I didn’t reach the summit I was aiming for, but everything else. It was a perfect day.”

But according to Explorersweb:

He describes the conditions as “horrible, with blue ice underneath and a top layer of deep snow. [it meant taking] two steps up and one down for 1,000m.”

Once on the ridge, he waited three hours for the winds to drop, sheltered by a cornice. He then proceeded over mixed terrain to the base of the Hornbein Couloir. He climbed this for “a few hundred meters.”

Then he broke a wind slab and triggered an avalanche that swept him down some 50 meters. After some consideration, he decided to turn around at that point. He descended in a heavy snowfall, with his previous footprints totally buried, and two to three meters of visibility. It was “interesting,” the athlete admitted.

Yes, sometimes staying alive, learning a lot in difficult conditions, making the right decisions, and being lucky to return to ones family is more than just “interesting” but actually “feels perfect”. I’m confused my the marketing speak, but glad to have him still with us. I bet his family is too.