Mountaineering Entry – May 2014

Mountaineering Log Entry

Climbing Team: Odyssey School Date: 05/27/14

Location: Mt. Fuji, Japan

Dear Parents,

Today was an epic day! Our students and teachers were joined by former Odyssey sensei, Hiroshi, and we all spent the entire day ascending Mt. Fuji. The weather was perfect with cool temperatures, light winds, and a partly cloudy sky. At the 7,500-­‐ foot level we began to encounter snow and at 8,500 feet we started up a large snowfield. We step-­‐kicked our way up slowly while plunging our makeshift ice axes for a third point of contact on the slope. All of our students made it to an altitude of 9,250 feet while some pressed on to 9,425 feet. Five students climbed a steep pitch using fixed ropes and chains and hauled themselves to 9,725 feet – above the cloud line!

At the start of this year, my first at Odyssey, I led our third-­‐year students (with Jon’s help) on an ascent up Mt. Shasta – considered a sacred mountain and a sister mountain to Mt. Fuji. Today, at 1530 hours, the same students finished the year honoring the annual theme while also representing themselves, their families, and their school with honor and integrity. They compartmentalized their pain and fear and kept pushing onward and upward. There are manifold life-­‐lessons that can be absorbed while climbing to the upper heights and I think that today’s phenomenal climb represented the best that Odyssey School can offer its students. Our experiential lesson in an outdoor classroom almost 6,000 miles from San Mateo delivered the important message that success comes from hard work, strategic planning, endurance of pain, and a “can do” attitude while in the topographical space of extreme challenge. Most likely, students will remember the magic of this capstone event and the alchemy of the success that they enjoyed as individuals and team members. These memories will echo for many years into the future in the minds of the individual participants as well as around the halls of Odyssey School.

Our team is fatigued and all members look forward to being reunited with their families. Enjoy the pictures below.

It’s Happening Right Now: Climb On!

Namaste,

Steveo

Climbing Sirdar Odyssey School

“It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” (Sir Edmund Hillary)