Trekking On The Edge of Forever

My Star Trek Episode at Everest, SpaceRef
“As we approach the 50th anniversary of Star Trek (and in anticipation of participating in this week’s Star Trek-themed NASA Social), I thought I’d write about how many experiences in my life have intersected with- and have been affected by its legacy. In late April 2009 I found myself at Everest Base Camp for a month. I was living at 17,600 feet in Nepal 2 miles from China and 2 miles from the highest point on our planet. I was surrounded by the epic majesty of the Himalayas, a thousand people supporting several hundred Type A individuals with a shared intent to summit the mountain and stand in the jet stream. And all of this was enabled by the austere and noble Sherpa people. I was on a mission not unlike a space mission. My team mate was my long-time friend Scott Parazynski, an astronaut. I could just stop there and what is in these sentences would be cool enough. This had all the makings of a Star Trek episode – and I knew it.”
NASA: On the Edge of Forever
“When Star Trek originally aired in 1966, NASA’s space program was still in its infancy. But Star Trek allowed us to imagine what could be, if we dared to boldly go where no one had gone before.”