RIDING THE TEARS OF EVEREST

…And so it was that the rain came thundering down the valley, like the riders of the apocalypse. Destruction flooded in the wake. On the last horse was death venturing forth with wrath to conquer the immortal soul of the impersonal culture. A culture that had evolved, spawned by the late 20th century and early 21st century. The wonder of modern science had failed the masses the populace dreamed a ‘New Hope’. A new guru was needed to lead them forward to the Shangri La that had been promised with the birth of the solitary Christ years before. Selfish was the culture; selfish was the individual.

It had been a long time since the people had held the same dream, the same goal. The collective conscious held little passion for this ideal. Stumbling blindly was not productive. It did not draw the much-needed conclusions. Moving the years from the pagan Norse gods to the collapse of the dollar worship of capital ideals, many idols have come and gone; many born then die. All were able to fool those who blinked, willing to listen. Firstly popular spiritual idols were found to fault, then the dominant ideology keep those of the populace separated at a fair distance. The self worked within the group as independence was neglected. From hoaxes to magicians those who looked for escape could only dream a vain hope of finding a cure.

It seems an age since I kayaked the rivers that flow from Everest. Although just reading the inside cover of 'RIDING THE TEARS OF EVEREST' brings it all back. I suppose it should, since I wrote the book. The back cover tells it all - “I wanted to give my new mistress all my soul. She could have it all so long that I lived[…]we cannot avoid the siren call.”

So you see playing about in rivers brings stories to tell and lessons to learn. It is not just a way to waste a weekend it offers much more to me. These lessons allow us to grow and explore not just the natural world but our hearts and minds. As a child I grew up in the Britain that Thatcher inhabited. Playing and learning only a stone throw from the crumbling Yorkshire coalfields. How and why I ended up with Everest in my live is hard to understand. Perhaps one day I will understand it more. Although for now the passage of time and the words of the book seem plenty. This book is not just about kayaking rivers that flow in Nepal, or Everest. It is about more, much more. It is about motivation, love, sadness and the good friends and interesting faces that will keep the fire in the belly for years to come.

RIDING THE TEARS OF EVEREST is available from all good book dealers, although you can save time by ordering via http://purelandexpeditions.com, this will also avoid postage charges within the UK. A live action presentation of the book is available for clubs and groups please email bookings@purelandexpeditions.com for details.