NOVEL WEB Chapter 370 - 368: Reach Out and Touch the Sky
Chapter 370: Chapter 368: Reach Out and Touch the Sky
Mount Everest!
No sooner had Bi Fang finished speaking than Taseto sprang to his feet with a whoosh, the legs of his stool screeching across the floor as he placed his hands on the tabletop, his face full of surprise.
“Mount Everest! Is that the world’s highest peak?”
“Is Mr. Bi going to climb Mount Jolmo Lungma?”
Bi Fang set down his knife and fork, and before he could comprehend why the other’s reaction was so strong, Hask, sitting beside him, rapped his knuckles on the table and shot a glance at Taseto. Despite his scolding tone, there wasn’t much blame in his voice, “Taseto, what do you look like? Sit down!”
Embarrassed, Taseto sat down.
After scolding his third son, Hask looked apologetically toward Bi Fang, “I’m really sorry for the interruption, Mr. Bi. Please forgive us. It’s just that Taseto has been passionate about this kind of adventure since he was little.”
Bi Fang waved his hand dismissively, not minding the incident and nodded affirmatively, “Yes, that’s the one, the first highest peak in the world, Mount Everest.”
Matthew was the first to express skepticism, “Have you climbed a mountain before?”
While not familiar with the world of mountaineering, Matthew, having wandered around, knew quite a lot, especially about Mount Everest.
The highest point on Earth.
It is an area with some of the thinnest air, one of the most hostile environments. Sometimes a cough could be fatal, and even taking a breath could cause a pain so intense it felt as if one’s liver was being torn apart.
If an accident occurred, not even the body could be retrieved; it would stay forever in that desolate place, becoming an eternal landmark.
It is a realm where not a single mistake is permissible. Even though Bi Fang had created miracles time and again, when faced with the weight of the world’s highest peak, it still wasn’t enough for people to have full confidence in him. Therefore, Matthew had to ask, although it had not been mentioned in the broadcasts, maybe Bi Fang was a mountaineer before becoming a broadcaster…
“No.”
Matthew’s train of thought was interrupted; his pupils dilated gradually. He unconsciously opened his mouth wide but after several attempts, he couldn’t speak. At last, it became a sentence, “Are you insane!? How is that possible?”
At the dining table, Hask’s family also looked on in shock. Except for Taseto, the others were not interested in outdoor adventures, but that didn’t mean they were ignorant.
The dangers of Everest, any Earthling, even if they couldn’t list the specifics, knew it was a perilous place.
“I’m not crazy.” Bi Fang’s tone was very calm, in stark contrast to everyone else. He picked up his knife and fork again, cutting off a piece of tender steak and started to chew. After quite a while, he swallowed and then tapped his head, “In my view, there are two most important things for adventures: a healthy body and a brain that understands the wilderness.”
“Coincidentally, Matthew, I have both. I’m twenty-five this year, my physical condition is at its peak, and I also possess one of the top wilderness brains in the world.”
“It’s totally… not the same thing. You’ve never been there, never been there…”
Matthew stammered, unable to articulate his thoughts, feeling that the whole thing was too absurd. A person who had never climbed a high-altitude mountain range suddenly announced his intentions to conquer the world’s highest peak.
Has Don Quixote taken possession? A madman?
Bi Fang, seeing the look on everyone’s faces, knew they didn’t believe him. Indeed, it was nearly impossible for someone who had never climbed high-altitude mountains to suddenly declare they would defeat Mount Everest.
He gripped his knife and fork, dabbed a bit of sauce, and drew a rudimentary map of the region on the white porcelain plate.
“Don’t worry. Although Mount Everest is the world’s highest peak, it’s not the most difficult to climb on Earth. I’ve given myself a long period for this mission, planning to spend as much as two months, with an additional month for training. It’s mid-April now, and by mid-May, which is a month away, it will be the best time to climb Everest. During this period, all my live streams will revolve around Mount Everest.”
As the fork moved continuously, everyone’s attention was drawn to the black sauce, as if there indeed stood a tall mountain range; between Heaven and Earth, Mount Everest towered there.
“Mount Everest is located on the China-Nepal border, with the Indian subcontinent to the south and the Bay of Bengal to the east of India. In May, the continental cold air over the Bay of Bengal begins to retreat northward. The movement of high and low-pressure interfaces often accompanies the formation of cyclonic airflows. Therefore, as soon as a cyclonic airflow forms over the Bay of Bengal and shows signs of moving north, it’s the best time to summit Mount Everest.”
“The climate around Mount Everest and its nearby peaks is complex and variable, with obvious monsoon characteristics. The weather is too unpredictable, so it’s essential to choose a stable climatic period. Too early, and the monsoonal winds haven’t stopped; too late, and the monsoonal wind shift has finished, neither of which is suitable for summiting. This weather window usually lasts from a few days to ten days, and most Mount Everest summiting is done within this window. Everything coincides with my timing plan perfectly.”
Matthew, Hask, Taseto, and others stood behind Bi Fang’s chair, blinking at the map on the porcelain plate, before exchanging glances.
All present were laymen, not understanding, but feeling quite impressive…
It seems, it looks, not that difficult, indeed?
Worthy of Master Fang (Mr. Bi), indeed well-prepared!
“This, why does the formation of a cyclonic airflow stabilize the weather?” Taseto, the only one with some knowledge of outdoor activities, struggled to pronounce the technical term, a term he had heard for the first time. Having heard it just once and trying to say it accurately was somewhat difficult for him.
Bi Fang looked around the circle, and from the looks in everyone’s eyes alone, he knew that nobody had understood. So, he dipped his finger in some sauce and drew several circles: “It’s simple, a simple explanation is like the eye of a typhoon, which compared to the wind wall, is relatively still, so the climate is stable.”
“Oh~~”
They seemed to have really understood, as everyone let out a collective “Oh.”
Matthew, who had been very worried initially, seemed to be convinced as well. He now thought it might actually be feasible. He was just a layman after all, looking at Master Fang, who spoke so convincingly.
Indeed, a layman is a layman, and the road ahead is still long for oneself.
Seeing the skepticism in people’s eyes turning into trust, Bi Fang couldn’t help but smile.
Is climbing Mount Everest really that simple?
What he had said was, of course, correct, but that didn’t mean climbing Mount Everest was simple. Choosing the right summiting window just reduced the requirements from one hundred percent to ninety percent.
To challenge high-altitude mountains, the first step is to engage in low-altitude outdoor activities, physical training, and learning of basic techniques. If a beginner could use all the weekends, this phase could be completed within a year.
The second step is to start entering the thin air areas of high altitude. Before attempting to climb Mount Everest, it’s best to have 2-3 high-altitude climbing experiences.
Progressively start from peaks at 6000 meters, then 7000 meters, and 8000 meters.
This stage takes at least one year for the fastest, and 2-3 years for the average person.
And for himself, he had only one month!
Twirling the fork in his hand, Bi Fang’s gaze was resolute and fearless.
Above an altitude of 8500 meters, that is an exceedingly high measure of ethics that is beyond human demands, it is a no-go zone for humans.
Thinking this, Bi Fang even felt somewhat excited. Whether in this life or in the past life, so many people had gone forth, issuing challenge after challenge to Mount Everest. He himself had also imagined it, but that place also buried batch after batch of challengers. He neither had the qualification nor the strength and could only dream.
Never before had he been so close to his Goddess Peak as today.
It was as if,
one could touch the sky by merely reaching out.
Bi Fang smiled, he had never stopped his stride, and the new journey had just begun.