What's Hiking Mt. Everest REALLY Like? A Look Into The Dark Side Of The Mountain

Have you ever had a dream that you were trapped on top of a huge mountain with no food or water, doomed to die a cold miserable death? No? Am I the only one? I'm sure I'm not alone here, there must be someone else... oh I know; Mt Everest hikers!

Okay, I know what your thinking; only mad men would dream about dying at the top of Mt. Everest and yet, some of the most passionate hikers in the world wouldn't want to end their journey any other way. I mean they probably wouldn't want the whole suffering part and if they're still pretty young with a long life ahead of them they'd probably want to live a couple more years but for experienced adventurers with an ever dwindling ability to physically hike, it would be more than an honor to be taken by the pinnacle of trekking experiences that is the summit of Mt. Everest.

Mt. Everest is known as the tallest mountain in the world, towering a massive 29,035 ft high, more than ten times the height of the tallest building in the world. To scale this abnormal giant is to walk the tightrope of life and death. Either you perish along with the other 200 fallen heros or you survive the treacherous unknown and be praised as a trekking god (although probably with a pretty scarred mind).

Let's look at the facts:

The Reality Of Living In a Commune: And How It Changed My Life

A couple months ago, in the summer of 2016, I lived in an Egalitarian, anarchist commune in the Catskills of Southern New York. Although it was short-lived, the ideology and wisdom I gained stuck with me and has had a lasting effect on my life, undermining my personal insecurities as well as realizing the diversity of lifestyles that surrounds us to learning practical skills such as farming, communal planning, construction and much more. My short time at East Brook Farm has been one of the most influential experiences I've ever had. Let me set the scene for you.

It was mid-July 2016 and I had just graduated from high school. Naturally, I was excited but at the same time nervous, for I had no plan for the future set in mind yet. Before I graduated I was working at a ski resort about 30 minutes away from my hometown of Johnson, Vermont. It was a mellow gig. I drove a truck around all day listening to documentaries on my phone while occasionally taking calls to pick up cleaners or bring towels to guests. Easy right? Yes. Way too easy. In fact, I was bored out of my mind most of the time, but it was work, work that paid me $10/hour to do nothing so I stuck with it.