Frozen Heart

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“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched — they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller

I was digging around in my hiking gear this weekend and came across one of my CamelBak backpacks. Such an amazing concept to carry your water with an attached hose so that you could take a drink without stopping.

CamelBaks came with their own downsides though too. Slow leaks, fast leaks, and the time my friend Jill, had a hose that was stuck open. She kept turning around to try to grab as it sprayed in 360 degrees around.

A guide on Mt. Rainier once told me why they never recommended clients wear them while climbing. It surprised me because staying hydrated is so important to performance. The issue was that on the upper mountain above 10,000 feet, CamelBaks often froze. The result is that a climber ends up carrying an ice block next to their heart. If that happens, it cools blood flowing in and out, sometimes accelerating hypothermia.

That was an aha moment for me. It totally made sense why it would be detrimental to staying warm and having functioning extremities when climbing but I’d never thought of it. And well, you know how I like climbing metaphors. It also works to describe how dangerous it is to hold some things close to the heart. In my case, I’m thinking how anger, blame, guilt, shame, or fear reduce my overall warmth if I carry them around.

For better or for worse, what we hold next to the heart affects everything that’s pumped out.

(featured photo is mine of our group leaving the 17,160 foot summit of Mt. Ixtaccihuatl, October, 2000)

54 thoughts on “Frozen Heart”

  1. A lovely and apt metaphor whether one is going up, going down, or just thinking about how best to negotiate life and relationships. Thanks, Wynne.

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  8. Storytelling at its best Wynne. I like how you shared the camelbak story and the metaphor it made. When you are climbing is the camelbak carried on your chest because you have a backpack?

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    1. Thank you, David! So good to see you! I really appreciate your kind feedback.

      That’s a good question about where climbers would put it. I think they’d often take the reservoir of the Camelbak out and slip it into their climbing backpack.

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  10. Beautifully expressed as always, Wynne. At the highest altitudes, when the life sustaining oxygen is its lowest, we should always guard our heart and let go of the toxic emotions that threaten its safety and life-sustaining function. Love it.

    Hope you three enjoy your week ahead. Long weekend coming up!

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  12. Oh, I never knew that. I would’ve thought the same thing — that camelbaks were a godsend for keeping hydration going. What a great statement though Wynne: “For better or for worse, what we hold next to the heart affects everything that’s pumped out.” It’s so true about life, garbage in, then it’s going to be garbage out. 🙂 🙂

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  14. Wow, I never considered that about CamelBaks, though I guess I’ve never trekked through snow. I love the metaphor. Brilliant food for thought, as always, Wynne!

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  19. Wonderful lesson, Wynne 💞💞💞 and great reminder to look at what we are clutching so tightly and to find a replacement for those things that are detrimental to your health. 💞

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