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Luckily, that’s when the pilot pops open the plane’s door,
letting in the crisp morning air. Even when you step out onto
the airstrip and gaze at the mountain range ahead of you,
it’s hard to believe you’re actually here in the middle of the
Himalayas. You can’t see Everest yet, but just the thrill of
being so close makes you excited to get going.
Russ strides over to you. With one huge, muscular
arm, he puts you in a friendly headlock. “So, ‘brave young
passenger,’ ” he teases, “are you ready to summit Everest? ”
“Bring it on,” you say in your action-hero voice.
It was Russ’s idea to bring you, Garrett, and Julia together
to climb Everest. Each of you has climbed at least one big
peak with Russ and Doc before, and each of you e-mailed the
couple last year to see if they’d guide you to the top of Everest.
Russ and Doc thought that you three were up to the
challenge, and they figured, why not make it a world-record-
setting expedition—the youngest team ever? You loved the
