Today, let’s climb a different mountain. We were at Mt. Rushmore yesterday. Let’s now climb Mt. Everest. This mountain is located in Asia on the border of Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The peak sits directly on the international border between the two countries. It is 29,031.7 feet tall at its peak.
“The first successful, undisputed ascent of Mount Everest was achieved on May 29, 1953, by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, via the Southeast Ridge.”1 Since then, over 13,000 have successfully made it to the top with an average of 400-600 trying it each year. In 2024, more than 860 made the climb and as of June 2025, 846 had already made it to the top, making 2025 a “summit” year!2
Altitude sickness, unpredictable weather, physical and technical demands, and overcrowding are some of the biggest challenges climbers face. “Over 200 bodies still remain on Mount Everest due to the dangerous conditions of the high altitude and the fact that many climbers have died in the “Death Zone”. Some trusted sites, like Wikipedia and the BBC, describe this as the area above 8,000 meters (26,000 feet), where low oxygen levels and harsh conditions make recovery extremely difficult. Since 1922, over 300 people have perished on the mountain, and many of their bodies remain frozen in place, often visible to passing climbers.”3
Since we live in the 21st century, there is one other concern that climbers often have. Is there cell phone service at the summit? In a day of constant social media updates and livestream, climbers often want to document their journey. Without cell service, there are no posts or videos.
“On May 21, 2007, Rod Baber placed a 1-minute, 48-second phone call. He called a voicemail account to leave a message, a move that cost him $4.72. By all accounts, Baber’s call was much like millions made from cellphones every day — except that the renowned British climber was standing on the summit of Mount Everest. Using a Motorola Rizr Z8, Baber made the call at 29,035 feet, earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for “highest mobile phone call.” The feat was made possible by China Telecom, which had set up a cell tower at the base camp on the mountain’s north side. Baber also called his family and sent a text to a Motorola employee: “One small text for man, one giant leap for mobilekind.”4
In 2013, Everest received a 4G upgrade and in 2020, they got a 5G upgrade. Will that incentivize others to make the climb? I can’t answer for anyone but myself and it is a hard no for me!
Despite the growing technology, no cell phone company can guarantee coverage 100% of the time in 100% of the places you can go. We are on T-Mobile and have exceptional
coverage in most places. Montpelier is a different story with signal strength flowing in and out like the tide – and mostly out. Through the years, I started with Nextel before going with AT&T, then Verizon. All of the companies had sketchy areas, some more than others.
I’m glad that there are no “dead zones” when it comes to talking to the Lord! The Psalmist asked, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? (8) If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. (9) If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; (10) Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. (11) If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. (12) Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” (Psalms 139:7-12) There is no place where we have a dropped call when talking to the God.
One thing, though, creates a crash of the “spiritual signal.” SIN. Psalms 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” The old evangelist, John R. Rice, explained this verse: “I want you to notice what God did NOT say. God did not say that if I have sinned, He will not hear me. No, no! Thank God, He did not say that; for if He had then God could never hear a human being pray. For all of us have sinned. He did not even say that if at this moment there is any sin in the life, He would not hear us. For I John 1:8 teaches us plainly that all of us have (present tense) sin in our lives all the time. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” The constant presence of human frailty, of bodily illness, the encroachments of age and infirmity, the limitations to our prayer and soul winning, all testify that we have sin, even now, and that we will have until we are translated when Jesus comes, or until we die. If Paul needed to say, “When I would do good, evil is present with me” (Rom. 7:21), so do the rest of us need to say it. I cannot come to God and ask anything of Him on the basis that I am sinless and perfect and that there is not in my heart, unknown to me, unseen to my neighbors, a single thing that is less than His best, a single thing that is not as pure as an angel or as Christ Himself. No, no! I am a sinner. But I can still get my prayers answered.
“And then what does God say? If I regard iniquity in my heart God will not hear me. I am a sinner, but, oh, I must not love sin. And if I hold any particular sin in my heart and love it, and make an alibi for it, and excuse it, and cover it up – then that becomes a cause of controversy between me and God. God hates sin, but God has a remedy for sin… So it is not primarily the fact of sin, but it is a love for sin, a willingness to sin, an excusing of sin that make it so God cannot answer our prayers.”
Today, let’s make sure our prayers are not hindered and that the signal path is clear. If we are Christians, let’s “confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
1https://www.nepalhikingteam.com/where-is-mount-everest
2https://mountainroutes.com/how-many-people-climb-mount-everest-each-year#the-first-successful-summit-in-1953
3https://www.nepalhikingteam.com/where-is-mount-everest
4https://interestingfacts.com/fact/there-is-cellphone-service-at-the-summit-of-mount-everest/?lctg=e6fd7449-4b4d-4d27-9340-7ad6e03075f2
5https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Books,%20Tracts%20&%20Preaching/Printed%20Books/Dr%20John%20Rice/Hindrances/h_07.htm
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