New York Times
Sunday, April 17, 2011
ASPEN, Colo. — Neal Beidleman has tried to outrun his association with Everest. But the mountain, he said, was "stapled and tattooed on my forehead." It was perhaps inevitable, then, that one day he would return.
Beidleman was serving as a guide under Scott Fischer in May 1996 when a raging storm overtook two climbing teams high on the mountain. Five climbers on the teams died, including Fischer, who led one team, and Rob Hall, who led the other. In all, eight climbers died during the storm, a story chronicled by Jon Krakauer in his best-selling book Into Thin Air.
"It's not like I dread talking about it; it's not taboo," Beidleman, 51, said last month before leaving for Katmandu, Nepal, to begin what he hopes will be a successful climb of Everest. "But when I reflect back, it doesn't give me a warm feeling. It's not something I'm necessarily proud of."
Beidleman and the three other members of his team will make their way from Everest's South Side base camp. The intended route will have Beidleman retracing his steps from 1996.
"Hopefully, there's a closing chapter for me to what happened in '96, because in returning, the story doesn't have to be about the past," he said. "The story can be about the future."
Everest, of course, promises certain unknowns for everyone on the mountain, including Beidleman. And the thought of visiting Fischer's body on the climbing route halts him.
"Scott's not coming back, and it'll be very — I don't know how I'm going to feel when I walk by his memorial," Beidleman said, his voice trailing off. "His body is still up there high on the mountain. He's been pulled to the side a little bit, but I will go and try to seek out where he rests now and pay him my respects. I don't know how that's going to be. But hopefully, there will be a bit of closure."