Opportunity Whispers, Can You Hear It?

Seize every opportunity along the way, for how sad it would be if the road you chose became the road not taken.  Robert Brault.

Some friends of mine did the Wapta Traverse over Easter. They spent six days on the route, had perfect weather and sound stability. When I read their trip report, I felt, half guilty, half incredulous: "That's all?"

They are all ten years younger than me, the weather was perfect, the stability was good, they had excessive amounts of time and they managed to climb two peaks. That's it, two peaks. Both are passed on the traverse route and each require only an extra 300 metres of elevation gain.

Of course, in climbing, skiing and mountaineering, we all choose how hard we want to push ourselves and how much we want to accomplish. It's exactly that freedom that continues to engage us in these pursuits year after year. Presumably, my friends achieved all they wanted to achieve and are happy with their accomplishments.  However, I couldn't help but think of opportunity lost for want of a little more effort. 

Doug on the summit of Mount Goethe in the California Sierras