First Light on Cho Oyu (8201m)
Everest Region, Nepal, May 2001

After a fitful night of little sleep at 16,000 feet, I woke at 5am to climb Gokyo Ri, a nearby mountain known for its expansive views of Everest and the high Himalayas. But the best view was just outside my guesthouse. I stepped outside to a frosty clear morning and a dark cobalt sky. The icy peak of Cho Oyu towered two miles above. As the first rays of the sun lit up the peak, a long thin cloud floated across the summit, and I knew there wouldn't be many mornings in my life like this.