IRP Post 2

In the introduction we are introduced to the writer of the book, David Oliver Relin, who joins Greg Mortenson on his missionary work as a teacher in the Middle East. He says that although he is the one that technically wrote the book, in every way Mortenson was the writer. He was the one who went out and did amazing things for hundreds of children by helping them and teaching them.

The book starts off by describing a scene in a helicopter through Pakistan with Mortenson. They landed in Korphe greeted by ecstatic children offering them tea. Mortenson is known to have an "orbit" that attracts people into his life. There were multiple given examples of how within a moment of meeting him people would join him to become "dedicated fixers". Soldiers of the Taliban ended their violence simply meeting Dr. Mortenson.

After our introduction of Mortenson we are told of his first time encountering failure. Him and a large group of other climbers, including a close friend,Scott Darsney, attempted to climb K2, the second highest point on earth. While climbing up he lost the rest of the group and reflected on how lonely it was during that time. When he found the group again they were held back because a man became sick from the elevation. Only 600 meters from the top they had to climb down, encountering failure.