start with a clean sheet, they say, as one prepares for the grand adventure of mountaineering, embracing the standard route, yet, to truly grasp the essence of the journey, one must ponder the pre-beginning, the untold stories that evade the public eye. tell me, however, about the offstage mishaps that climbers silently agree never to speak of, weaving back into the narrative the elements of resilience and triumph over nature.