ONE STEP MORE

One step more is the phrase I had to keep repeating to myself as I labored to raise my crampon-booted foot, move it forward and set it down in front my other foot as I climbed the 18,000 foot high glacier towards the peak of Ritacumba Blanca in the Sierra Nevada de Cocuy, Colombia's second highest mountain. Each step was a massive effort and required all the concentration my oxygen-deprived mind could muster.

Life is exactly the same. Daily efforts that seem so hard to over come but, like reaching the narrow glaciated peak on Ritacumba Blanca and staring down the three thousand foot escarpment on the other side into the Ratoncito Valley and the glaciers on the other peaks, are worth the effort. Thirty years later, the thrill of that moment still sends goose-bumps down my back.

I want to Take One Step More, one step futher into the unknow if need be.

Life's rewards are directly related to the risks one takes.

ONE STEP MORE. Take one step more with me.