HIGHER THAN the EAGLE FLIES

One day, a pair of adventurers, called Jenny and Alison, went on a very daring flight over Mount Everest, in a hot air balloon.

The adventurers set off from a Sherpa village by a lake, over a dozen miles away from Everest.

As they went higher and higher, the balloonists were able to see more of the landscape, which stretched for miles in all directions.

The huge peak Cho Oyu rose up nearby, Ama Dablam was not too far away and K2 dominated the North Western horizon, along with several other high peaks.

Then there was Everest itself, along with Lhotse, Nuptse and Changtse. The peaks of the Everest massif, were all joined by Cols and ridges.

Then there was the Khumbu Icefall, leading to the Western Cwm – the bottom of which was hidden by Nuptse.

Everything was silhouetted against the Sun.

Beyond that to the South East, was the vast massif of Makalu and its adjoining peak Chomolonzo.

To the North, the immeasurable Tibetan plateau stretched out as far as the eye could see.

As the balloonists approached Everest, they gained altitude, until they were about four thousand feet higher than the Summit level.

Jenny and Alison were so overwhelmed by the size of Everest. The South West face rose up over seven thousand feet, the North West face over eight thousand.

Once Nuptse had been cleared, the bottom of the Western Cwm came into view. At the top end of the Cwm, the West wall of Lhotse rose up over four thousand feet.

Then there was the vast Kangshung glacier trailing out of sight, beneath a vast bank of clouds, over fifteen thousand feet below on the other side of Everest.

On the far horizon, there towered Kangchenjunga.

At one point, the mighty Sunlit Kangshung face came into view.

Then finally, the balloon flew directly over Everest.

Unlike the silhouetted North West and South West sides of Everest, the Kangshung face painted an entirely different picture. It was all lit up, like a huge beacon with hanging glaciers and flutings on the upper slopes and buttresses and snow-covered spurs on the lower ones.

The huge North East wall of Lhotse was also mostly covered with snow and ice.

The Kangshung side of Everest looked otherworldly, compared to the surrounding landscape.

Eventually, Jenny and Alison made a safe landing.

Author Notes: This story is based on a real life balloon flight made by two adventurers called Chris Dewhurst and Leo Dickinson in 1991

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