I Lived Through Everest in the Rain: A Survivor’s True Tale of Survival

EverestToday featured an odd confluence of (apparently) natural disasters.

I decided to walk with a few friends to a local movie theater to see Everest. Walking there is how I justify buying treats at the concession stand–I burn off the calories as I walk, right? Right?

Midway through them movie, the theater started to shake. We assumed for the first 30 seconds or so that it was just the residual vibrations from an adjacent theater, but as the shaking continued for nearly 5 minutes, the same thought crossed all of our minds, “Were we in the middle of an earthquake?”

Naturally, we did as one should do when outlasting an earthquake: We continued watching the movie.

The movie itself was all about the overwhelming power of nature. It’s beautifully shot, and you really feel like you’re there on the slopes with the ill-fated climbers. There are times when you almost believe why they would pay huge sums of money to risk their lives for the mere chance at cresting the summit of Mt. Everest…but then the movie reminds you that it doesn’t make any sense at all. Either way, it was a thrill to watch.

The day was sunny when we walked to the theater, but we were greeted by a torrential downpour on for the 20-minute walk home. At first we walked quickly because we wanted to avoid getting wet. But we were quickly soaked to the bone, and our quick pace was more motivated by the potential for the storm to turn into far more dangerous. You never know in the midwest.

I’m not sure if the photo here adequately captures just how soaked I was (though it’s telling that the shirt I was wearing is a bright aquamarine color when it’s not drenched in water). There’s something gratifying about stripping down and toweling off after getting caught in the rain like that, though. I think it was worth it, and now I can say I survived an earthquake (it wasn’t an earthquake–probably just a generator in the building), a blizzard, and a torrential downpour all in one day.

See Jamey’s other “true” tales of survival here.

10 thoughts on “I Lived Through Everest in the Rain: A Survivor’s True Tale of Survival”

  1. I, too, survived the rain! The pickup soccer group played against Covenant Seminary last night, and most of the 2nd half was ridiculous rain. I haven’t been that soaked in years! About 10 minutes before the game ended, I noted just how heavy my cleats had become. Most of the players perished, but we kept playing anyway.

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