I’ve just finished watching the film “Meru” on Netflix and I was left completely in awe of the drive and dedication of the climbers to reach the peak of Mount Meru, a nearly 22,000-foot tall Himalayan mountain. In 2011, Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk were the first people to reach its summit via the Shark’s Fin route on the northwest side. The climb is harder and more technical than Everest , and involves a mixture of Alpine-style and Big-Wall techniques. I don’t want to paraphrase their words about the climb & the film when you can read them right here.
One of the things that really struck when watching the film was seeing that whole vista of human aspiration and emotion play out both during & between their attempts to climb Meru. They faced the death of friends, life-threatening injury, the need to look after each other & their families, balanced against an over-whelming urge to climb Meru, knowing that it would their risk-positions right to the limit.
It’s not the adventure or bravery alone that inspired me though. It was the realisation that here are normal people applying everything they have in order to be the best that they could ever be. To achieve that they are prepared to risk everything, and from that effort and risk comes a fantastic achievement.
I share that same sense of drive, but until recently I hadn’t discovered the singular thing that I wanted to excel at. I know what it is now, and I know I am prepared to make the extraordinary efforts needed to achieve it.
In my life I have been a so-so badminton player, a sort-of climber, a sometimes runner, a somewhat cyclist, an OK coarse fisherman, a pretty good karateka… but not expert in anything. I pushed hard in most of those things until I hit my ceiling, and then moved on to try something else – that’s what defines me… always looking for that thing I will be expert in.
For me, sharing top-quality stories is my Meru. I know I write well… finding a wide-readership and hopefully achieve solid recognition will be my equivalent of summit day.
Lee J. Russell, Author 
I have to say, I almost feel inclined to watch Meru myself now. Which is saying something because it does not sound like the kind of film I would normally go for.
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