The white-collar woman who conquered 7+2.
During holidays, WeChat Moments becomes a grand showcase of scenic spots. If you don’t go traveling, you practically can’t show your face in your friends’ circle. A friend who worked overtime during the holiday joked on WeChat: “Alright, here are some old photos from two years ago—pretending I’m in Paris.”
Jokes aside, the mountains and rivers posted in Moments are genuinely captivating. Judging by the photos, many people went into the mountains, even reaching fairly high summits. It’s clear that mountain climbing is indeed appealing: for one, it gets your body moving, and for another, it helps you escape the hustle and bustle and cultivate your temperament. For white-collar workers, mountain climbing is certainly wonderful, but at most, it’s just a way to adjust their physical and mental state outside of work.
However, not all white-collar workers think this way. There is such an extraordinary woman who, after graduating from Tsinghua University, went to the United States for further studies and later entered the Wharton School to pursue an MBA, steadily walking down the enviable path of a super white-collar worker. Yet a graduation trip caused this trajectory to begin deviating. She originally wanted to go to Mount Kilimanjaro to experience the romance from Hemingway’s novels, but the tough summit experience left her quite embarrassed. Clearly, the trip to Kilimanjaro pricked her pride: how could she, a seemingly healthy young woman, end up so miserable climbing a mountain that even the elderly and children can ascend? This restless, extraordinary woman resolved to change her situation, starting her physical training journey by participating in a half marathon.
Unexpectedly, a documentary—“Women on K2”—further diverted her from the path she had set for herself. Through the documentary, she joyfully learned that many people who successfully climbed Mount Everest didn’t come from athletic families; some had very ordinary backgrounds. She also discovered that no Chinese woman had yet accomplished the feat of climbing the highest peak on each of the seven continents. This ignited her desire to take on the challenge. After researching further, she set her ultimate goal as “7+2”—climbing the highest peaks on all seven continents and trekking to both the North and South Poles.
So, she began learning rock climbing, training fanatically in long-distance running, and taking up mountaineering. In September 2005, she conquered Mount Elbrus, taking a significant first step toward this dream. On May 24, 2010, she successfully summited Mount Everest, putting a perfect finishing touch on this dream. She became the first Chinese woman to complete the “7+2”.
She is Wang Lei. Earlier this year, she compiled her mountain-climbing stories and inner journey into a book titled “I Can”. Upon publication, the book quickly became a bedtime read for many white-collar workers.
The reporter connected with Wang Lei, who had returned to China, via the internet. When asked about her future plans, she said that mountain climbing has become her hobby, and her life now has new goals. You might think she’s incredible, but after hearing her story, you’ll likely find yourself thinking, just as I did, that familiar phrase: “If you know where you’re going, the whole world will make way for you.”