Man vs mountains at Snowdonia.
I’ve always been fascinated by the mountains. I remember when I was in primary school, my cousins and I walked towards Bukit Muar (Muar Hill) in Johore, Malaysia during one of our family vacations. The hill loomed like a majestic heap of sugar and us kids were like ants wanting to get to the top of that sugar pile.
When I was an undergraduate, I trekked with a couple of friends in the Himalayas during the December vacation. Despite the cold (-14 degree Celsius) and the fatigue, I pushed myself to reach Gokyo at 5500 metres above sea level. I remember during the many self-imposed rests, I would admire the mountain ranges with their snow-speckled tops. Ahhh…. cookies and cream. I smiled, as images of the mountains resembled my favourite ice-cream flavour. I had enough of the Nepali dhal bhat and momos and I was actually counting down to the end of the trek where I vowed to eat my favourite Singaporean dishes and of course the cookies and cream ice cream!
The Tibetan Himalayan doctor in Namche Bazaar commented that the wind element in my body is weak, which explained why I couldn’t trek as fast as the others. I remember I was trekking along in the evening, feeling frustrated at my slow pace and being the last trekker in the group. I then glanced up in the sky and saw a million stars littering the Himalayan sky. They dazzled like diamonds. Simply breath-taking. I wonder if my other friends had seen them too, as they had probably reached the destination way before night crept in.
Majestic mountains - Snowdonia.
I thought I had hung up my trekking boots after my stay in the USA. Lo and behold, I found myself in a van travelling six hours to Wales. I asked myself why on earth did I ever sign up to trek Mt Snowdon? I thought it would be fun to spend the weekend with my younger sisters (the undergraduates) from Cambridge and Imperial College. And as usual, I was among the last few to reach the peak. While hiking, a girl turned to me and asked, “Are you alright? Have you trekked before?”
I guessed my heavy breathings worried her. Alas, I didn’t have the energy to recount my wind deficiency-body condition. I merely said, “I’m alright and yes I’ve trekked before”.
As I rested some 200 metres from the top of Mt Snowdon, I turned to my friend and said, “It’s alright for me not to reach the top. I don’t have to prove to anyone.”
She said, “Aww… Hidayah, you’re a fighter. You can do this!”
Energised by her words I grabbed her arm and said, “Let’s climb together.”
Despite her leg cramps, my friend and I reached the top, a little later than our younger friends but nevertheless; we too experienced the beautiful view from the top of one of the highest mountains in the UK.
As I admired the view from Mt Snowdon, I remembered a saying from the Quran, “And He has fixed into the earth, mountains standing firm… that you may guide yourselves.” So if mountains are there to guide us, what lessons can we learn from them?
View from the top of Mt Snowdon, Snowdonia, Wales.
Have a purpose in life
The end goal of the trek is to reach the peak. No matter how tired and distracted we may get or even how long it might take us, we must persevere to reach our goal.
Leadership by example
Although the trek leader is supposed to lead the way up the mountain, he must look back regularly to ensure that his followers are doing well or if they have lagged behind until they are nowhere in sight. After all, what good is a leader without his followers, right?
Obstacles build character
As with life, the mountains are filled with obstacles such as slippery terrains, jagged boulders, making trekking difficult. However, one learns to manoeuvre through the obstacle course and in the process learns to be patient, fast thinking, and determined.
Friends are important
They say that you’ll discover your friends’ true character in times of great adversity. I have seen how some friendships grew stronger and how some fell apart after an arduous trekking trip. Whatever the situation may be, friends are important in our life. They motivate us in our journey and provide that wonderful companionship in times of happiness and sorrows.
Take time to smell the roses (in this case, the fresh mountain air)
Sometimes we are too engrossed in our work and other tasks that we forget to appreciate the simple things in life. We forget to smile at our kind neighbour who volunteers to water our plants when we are away, we forget to compliment our child for his good behaviour at the supermarket, or we even forget to appreciate the beauty of the tulips in the vase on our kitchen table.
Last week, while driving in Fort William, I saw the inviting Ben Nevis Mountain, standing tall and regal against the Scotland sky. Hmm… maybe I won’t hang up my trekking boots after all.
* Pictures courtesy of Hidayah Amin.
Hidayah Amin | 18 April 2011
