As I write this article, I am inside a tent on a rest day at above 18,000′ altitude with the constant heavy blowing of wind and dust. This makes 9 days so far of a grueling 15-day journey to climb a single mountain to an altitude of 22,837′. I am quickly learning, even though I theoretically knew, that everything is harder when you are up this high, pushing to achieve an enormous goal—sleeping, breathing, using the bathroom (there is no real bathroom), eating, walking, even your mental ability to process and react to basic daily activity.