Fairweather sherpa

Not that I had any plans to before, but I have now definitely decided that I will never attempt to scale Mt. Everest. No, I didn't just finish reading Into Thin Air, I'm not flashing back to two months ago when those people got stranded on a mountain, and it's not because of the civil unrest in Nepal.

I've decided that there is simply no way that I could take the cold. It was -2° outside yesterday, with a windchill making it feel like -26°. It's a bit warmer today (1°, -7° with windchill). But for the past two days the 15 minute walk between my apartment and the law school has been brutal. Even bundling up and thawing out mid-walk by cutting through the main library wasn't enough to stave off the bitter cold. The parts of my face that were not covered got numb, causing me to momentarily wonder if the grimace of pain would be permanently frozen to my face. And my legs, despite being in constant motion, were on the verge of losing feeling. Fortunately, my exposed flesh did not freeze in ten minutes as indicated in a Weather Service advisory.

I did play a sherpa in Gilbertson v. Everest Experience, but I'm clearly not cut out for the real thing. And while I'm sure I would wear warmer clothes if I were ever to trek up the face of Mt. Everest, I would have to be outside for far longer periods in temperatures that would make the past few days feel like summer.

Tenzing Norgay I am not.