I was concentrating on the sled and did not see him fall. Within moments of reading these and the following paragraphs, I became addicted to the book. Without whereness, neither language, person or thought could commence. All the fundamental imagery of the world would be impossible without landscape. The human journey, the search for meaning would be inconceivable.
Landscape is then a condition of the possibility of everything.
Without landscape there would be nowhere. About half way through the book, you become aware of sifting sands. The Mountain is still there and remains there until the end, but the contours are changing. While we are busily trying to scale Everest, the obverse angle of wife and family begin to intrude more and more and, at times, crack through the ice. The relationship is at times somewhat fragile, even brittle, but in a few warm and intimate moments the strength of the love wins through.