Traveling from South to North across the state of Idaho Steve Graepel and Chris Minson have been forced to end the trip due to a serious eye condition. This story comes from the First Ascent blog. The trip was 840 miles and has never been done before. A true adventure in the spirit of Hillary or Marco Polo.
Instead of going on and completing the trip they decided Steve's eye, which had suffered a corneal erosion, an exposing of the nerves in the eye which is extraordinarily painful, was much more important and the goal they had set for themselves would not be accomplished.
Besides being well spoken, at least in writing, Steve is also, at least a little wise. In mountaineering there is always a danger of developing a case of summit fever. When the fever takes over nothing matters except the summit not even your own life. On Mt Everest this occurs more often then it should and costs lives. Steve has defeated that impulse and ended his bid at a first maybe forever since the condition is recurrent.
Here is the point health first then the summit. Adventure need not require life and limb and in my opinion should not. There are thing worth giving both for but a summit or completion of an adventure is not it.
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