In the beginning of June 2024, my 16 year old daughter and I climbed Mont Blanc in the French Alpes (4808m). It was awesome!
I had been to the top of the mountain before, but it was about 30 years ago. The mountain did not change too much, but I did 😉
This was our first mountaineering experience together.
Fresh snow and the pace of the guide made it a challenging enterprise (over 14 hours of physical activity on Summit Day), but the Weather Gods were friends and…… we reached the summit!
Experiences like these quite are different from going on a vacation to Dubai for the ´can´t-remember-how-often-´ time.
These are some of the things I (re-)learned:
– We are all painting a picture on this canvas called Life. And what you do to make money is only a part of that. And not even an important part.
– Time is divided in Chronological time (Chronos) and Significant Time (Kairos). Kairos are the moments of significant experiences. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. Make sure you get more Kairos time.
– I´m not a screen junkie, but being disconnected for a few days was a great experience. Only concentrating on the guide, the weather, your gear, our small group and stunning surroundings was actually what I missed most when we returned to civilisation.
– Whatever my daughter decides to do with her life: Alpinism, the Alpes, the Mont Blanc, Chamonix, mountaineering, extreme physical effort….will all be anchored to that one time she climbed Mt Blanc with her dad. That is priceless.
– It´s great to have goals. They give you something to work towards (as we did with our training hiking other peaks) and a exciting anticipation of the experience to come.
But I should always remember that my happiness should not depend on reaching the goal. I can be happy now already.
It´s been a great experience for us both and we are already planning our next mountaineering trip!
Keep making the canvas more interesting ;-)!
