With ropes, we can scale mountains
With boats, we can sail the seas
By age 40
I had conquered every last domain
Pilos Peak alone defeated me...
As an adventurer
And well, maybe in other ways too
Now, I am approaching the end of my life
Many times I have sat
And stared up at that peak
As the boundless snow slowly engulfed me
It is a beast without weakness
The merciless face of the world
It fills me with fear...
And when an adventurer loses courage
They can no longer climb mountains
My mountaineering days may be over
But I have a greater ambition now
Humans create tools to conquer nature
And when nature conquers them in return
They create better tools
Where our legs cannot take us
Maybe our tools can
And when tools fail us
Perhaps wings can carry us instead
My dear friend, I leave you my designs
For the "Wings of Incompletion"
Against the unknown, humanity stands as one
To be alive
Is to seek, to set foot in every place that the eye can see
I have little time remaining
Though the wind has not yet come for my soul
But between us
And your children, students, and friends
I believe that someone will reach that place at last 36 37