You rarely smoke—tobacco’s harm to lung capacity becomes even more pronounced above altitudes of 6,000 meters. You drink a little beer, favoring Tiger but also enjoying Gorkha from Kathmandu. You’ve even hunted around campsites for a local brew called Star Beer—that’s the Nepali flavor Noriyuki Yoshida missed the most. You seldom visit outdoor clubs—they’re packed with greenhorns who gear up in full hiking suits and 60-liter backpacks even for a short suburban trip.
You haven’t mentioned Siguniang Mountain in ages—it’s now the base camp for a mountain climbing festival and some music event or other. You, too, had your reckless youth; you once looked down on the Third Peak and insisted on tackling the Fourth, and if not for your satellite phone, you might have been stranded on the mountain. Ever since, you often tell starry-eyed rookies in bars: “Respect the mountains.” You sigh softly, turn away, and a glisten appears in your eyes under the dim candlelight—irresistibly moving.
An old-timer like you, with a sense of humanity and life experience, has no time for things like speed rappelling down rock walls. One afternoon in a bar, it nearly came to a fight over it. Without a word, you pulled out your phone, made a call, and dragged the guy to the rooftop of a downtown high-rise. The building’s exterior cleaning team leader didn’t recognize you at first—but you were already clipped into a safety rope and climbing out... Later, when the guy saw your high-altitude work permit, he switched to mountain biking.
When people ask why you spend your youth on the road, you say walking mountain trails beats sitting in traffic on the Third Ring Road. When they ask why you’re still single, you say the most beautiful women are the fleeting figures glimpsed by a riverside bridge at sunset. And when asked where the end is, you can’t help pulling a Marlboro from the pack across the table, lighting it with a blowtorch—and at that moment, your eyes well up with tears as the weight of years shows: “Miss, every story must come to an end someday. That’s the real finish line.”