Eyes on the Prize

By Bob Ferrari, Director of Education, National Chimney Sweep Guild

I was climbing Mount Rainier (14,410’) two years ago. It is covered by 26 glaciers. Crossing glaciers requires roped teams and technical knowledge of rescue. Hidden crevasse falls and avalanches are common, as are storms, wind, and whiteouts.

Climbing a mountain is very much like running a business.

Most groups take three or four days to climb and descend. The trail down low, from the parking lot to the first glacier, is well-traveled and marked. There are no real unknowns, unless several feet of snow hide the trail (which happened to me once).

In business, even tried-and-true pathways for success are sometimes lost due to circumstances beyond your control — like an economic bust, weather event, or global pandemic. However, even under a mantle of snow, you are still heading for the top. Sometimes you can even climb a more direct path rather than wasting time searching for the path that others built.

This time, we had reached the top of the first glacier where we would camp at about 9,000’. There was no wind. It was sunny. We could see the route all the way to the top. Gorgeous. Beautiful. Stunning.

I was emptying my gear from my pack into the tent pitched on the snow ridge. My super lightweight, warm, $500 sleeping bag was in its stuff sack behind a little rock. The lightest, barely-felt puff of wind stirred the air, and suddenly my sleeping bag was 30 yards away, careening down the glacier where, I suppose, it eventually landed about 3,000’ below us. I never found it.

My partner gave me a look that said, “What are you going to do?!” I said, “Well, we came here to climb the mountain, not to be comfortable. Let’s see how the night goes.” It’s tough when you lose a key employee or business partner. Life — even at its most beautiful — can be very unkind.

When I was teaching orienteering (the skill of navigation using a map and compass), I remember a particular instance where my students and I were aiming for a dip in the ridge on the far horizon. They understood our destination well. However, they hesitated when deciding whether to bypass a 100’ drop to the left or to the right. Before we knew it, it was too dark to reach our goal.

So often, it doesn’t matter which direction you take. Sometimes it’s a coin toss. Just go around the obstacle. It’s more important to keep your eyes on the prize.

Sure, there are times when you should turn around. But you’ll never know what choice you should have made if you’ve lost sight of where you’re going.

Three cold nights on a mountain never hurt anyone... much. However, I was very glad to be off that mountain, and I’d prefer to never experience that again. But what a prize it was to reach the top! Things happen. Night will come. What’s your prize?