Think of Kami Rita And Take the Stairs

The next time your building elevator is kaput and you take the stairs, swearing under your panting breath, spare a thought for Kami Rita. The 52-year-old sherpa - a term used these days with the abandonment that only management-speak is capable of - scaled Mount Everest [dramatic pause] for the 26th time. With the completion of the climb last Saturday, Rita broke his own record set last year. Leading 10 other climbers up the 'traditional' south-eastern ridge route of the 8.849 km high mountain peak, the sherpa with a purpose did to Sagarmatha - what in Rita's Nepali Mount Everest is called - what we try to avoid with stairs: conquer heights by climbing.

Of course Rita should not lull us into thinking that just because he has made a molehill out of the world's tallest mountain, it's an easy task. While Nepal has been accused of overcrowding Everest trails with climbers from all over the world in search of getting high on the tallest among all endurance sports, climbing Sagarmatha - Sky-Head - is no trek in the vacation package. But by climbing the peak over and over and over and... again, and returning 26 times in one piece, Rita shows that practice makes for muscle memory that, in turn, makes for ease of doing the business of climbing Everest. Forgo the gym and take to the stairs on a regular basis, and you'll discover what that means.