Climbing

Is Climbing Selfish?

/ Andrew Szalay / Leave a comment
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The Creek. (All rights reserved)

One line from One Mountain Thousand Summits by Freddie Wilkinson — the second part of this next sentence — has had me thinking during my early morning runs about the old question, is climbing selfish? Wilkinson writes, “Since the polar feuds of the 20th Century, media controversy was an intrinsic part of exploration [including mountaineering] — but back then, few seriously questioned whether climbing mountains or traversing continents was worth it.”

People question whether our sport is worthwhile quite frequently today. Discouraging banter about whether adventures are valid pursuits usually follows tragedy — like the 1996 Everest disaster, 2008 loss of life on K2 or the 2011 season on Denali — hits the mainstream media. Or if it hits hard at home because a loved one was hurt, fell, or worse.

Playing Our Game

I used to urge critics of recreational adventure to  consider whether any athletic game or endeavor is. Playing baseball, for instance, seems beyond question unselfish because spectators can take in a game and the fans consider professional players (and even some amateurs) as entertainers. At least it is beyond question insofar as nobody thinks to attack it the way climbing sometimes is criticized, largely due to the danger. Deaths are rarely reported in the outfield.

Climbing, has been historically niche or at least private affairs, except for well-sponsored expeditions driving for the biggest objectives. Expeditions to attempt 8,000 meter peaks in the 1950s and 60s were well publicized, meanwhile work being done in Alaska at the same time was underground. The smaller rock walls in New England were climbed by climbers and it mattered only to other climbers.

Do we need nonclimbers to care or respect our pursuits and accomplishments to avoid being labeled selfish? I don’t think so, but the questions are largely questions of values and public relations. Climbing — particularly alpine mountaineering — is among the last types of exploration-type adventure in our day and age.

It’s All Fun and Games Until…

But going deeper and asking whether our climbing or any outdoor action-sport adventure is fundamentally selfish means we have to look at the people around us. Our friends. Our family. The ones that love us. They are all going to have a different opinion. When we are hurt, sometimes it’s harder on the people that love us. Our moms. Our spouses. Our kids.

Of course, we’re talking about recreational adventure here. There are people that are forced into adventures as part of their life due to natural disasters, war, and health challenges in a region. I think even general eviction and family stability issues might even qualify. I’m probably missing examples. While you and I go outside into the unknown to glean something for our soul, others are having similar and graver situations — hmm — minister to their soul unwillingly, shall we say.

Further, there are a lot of horrible things that could “get us,” from crossing the street, to unspeakable violence. Is going to the market or school worth it? That goes without saying. Is going to the ballgame? Or the movies? Climbing and outdoors adventures are at least driven by excitement and challenge; it’s not a chore, an errand, or an obligation. We could stay home, but we think the adventure is worthy of leaving the safety of our home and everyday routine.

Now to the point of selfishness, it’s not our opinion of whether it’s selfish that counts. I think most of those closest to us give us allowance or keep their fears of us being hurt (or worse) to themselves because they know that we enjoy the game. We feed off the energy from the sport.

So, no. I don’t ultimately believe climbing itself is selfish. It’s the agreement, spoken or unspoken, with the people who care about us that matters. They determine whether your adventure is antics or part of some noble quest.

Climb for the right reasons. Be honest with the people that love you. Maybe it’ll spare some grief and bring you closer in the process. Isn’t that important too?

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This post was modified slightly on April 20, 2016.

Golgotha, Middle Peak and Wild Alaska

/ Andrew Szalay / 5 Comments

Earlier this week, I saw that the Mugs Stump Grant recipients for 2012 were announced. News like this is more than a headline; it’s a chance for us to live vicariously through some current, bold alpinists. Seven projects were awarded but the Alaskan expeditions drew my attention.

One recipient is a team focused on Golgotha in the Revelation Mountains.  Clint Helander, Scotty Vincik, and Mark Westman will tackle its east face. The other recipient is a team heading to the Saint Elias Range to climb the west face of Middle Peak. That team is composed of Dave Burdick, John Frieh and Zac West. Their objective doesn’t have as dramatic a name as Golgotha, but that really doesn’t matter either; it’s challenge more than makes up for its utilitarian name.

Mountaineering is an amazing sport (yes, it is a sport,) and as the long list of 2012 grant recipients shows, the scope is literally global. North America is my home and Alaska (and to some extent British Colombia and Alberta) are my favorite, mountain-wise. Living in an urban area where everyone craves the beaches of southern Florida, Alaska is plenty exotic. I love the history of the Alaska Range, the rugged, remote allure of the Revelations and the wilderness of the Saint Elias Range.

The Revelations were first visited by one of the Harvard Mountaineering Club veterans and writer, David Roberts. He and his team chose biblical end-of-times inspired names for the mountains they saw, such as The Angel and, of course, the unclimbed Golgotha. Roberts recently said in a recent issue of Climbing that he had been saving it on his personal tick list, and only recently did he feel comfortable telling everyone else about it. I wonder if this inspired this expedition? It made me contemplate grabbing my crampons and buying a plane ticket.

The Saint Elias Range was a blank on the Alaskan/Canadian map until National Geographic sent Bradford Washburn and a team of climbers to draw one up the old fashioned way — getting down on the ground, walking the glaciers and finding what lay between the peaks. Despite it being mapped — like everywhere else these days (sigh) — it’s the experience of the hike, the climb, the conditions our responses and our mental state that really create the explorer’s world today.

I wish the teams very good luck!

Thanks for dropping by again. If you enjoyed this post, please consider following the Suburban Mountaineer on Facebook or Twitter. Happy reading and carpe climb ’em!

Sources: 1) Alpinist Newswire; 2) Roberts, David, On the Ridge Between Life and Death, Simon and Schuster, 2005; 3) Roberts, David, The Last of His Kind, HarperCollins, 2009.

Mountain Drool: Mother’s Charm Box and the Yeti

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Ama Dablam (22,349 ft./6,812 m.) is widely photographed. Mountaineering  guide services even promote commercial alpine climbing expeditions to those aspiring to climb the peak. So in many ways the mountain has become familiar, unexciting and even bland. But there was time, when it lacked a lot of context, that it was exotic.

The first time I saw a picture of this peak with the serac dripping from its summit was in an advertisement for The North Face. I later saw it again in a magazine’s photo spread of a hike into Everest basecamp, so I knew it had to be in the Khumbu Valley. I didn’t know it’s name for years but I later learned that it was Ama Dablam, which mean’s Mother’s Charm Box or Mother’s Necklace.

The peak was first climbed in 1961 by Mike Gill and Wally Romanes of New Zealand, Mike Ward of the United Kingdom and Barry Bishop of the United States. This climb stands out in history for two reasons. It was the first Himalayan summit topped out in winter. It’s even more curious for another reason, other than the time of year: The climbing team was part of a larger expedition, led by Sir Edumund Hillary. It was called The World Book Encylopedia Scientific Expedition.

Among the expedition’s scientific goals (like the studying the effects of altitude) was to search for evidence of the “Abominable Snowman” or Yeti. Perhaps I should have put the word scientific in quotes. While that goal was likely to drive public interest, there was a genuine interest in whether sasquatch’s cousin (a.k.a. Bigfoot) did in fact exist. Even today, some people are still searching for sasquatch. At the time, there was evidence that allegedly pointed to the Yeti’s existence — footprints, skins and scalps.

The findings on the Yeti are mostly irrelevant today, but it does remind me of a more romantic time. When beasts unknown lurked in caves and even under beds, and when mountains didn’t have names — they were just beautiful and tempting. And when adventure was in being the first.

Cheers to Ama Dablam, to eveyone who has summited and those of us that just dream about it.

Thanks for dropping by again. If you enjoyed this post, please consider following the Suburban Mountaineer on Facebook or Twitter. Happy reading and carpe climb ’em!

Sources: 1962 American Alpine Journal

More Winter Break Reading

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I grew up with the Polish Christmas tradition of Wigilia (pronounced with a V and the G is silent — hence Vil-e-ah). On Christmas Eve, after the first star shined, we would sit down to a nine-course meal that included grains and pirogies. Before saying grace we would visit everyone at the table with a rice wafer — an oplatki — that we would break off a small piece after making a wish for the other person for the new year. I’d like to break off a piece with all of my readers and wish you a year of satisfying adventure!

So with that, I decided to list out ten of The Suburban Mountaineer’s most popular posts, particularly for the new Facebook and Twitter followers that might not have read them yet.  Like all of my posts, they cover climbing trends and culture by pulling on the knowledge I’ve accumulated over the years from my obsession for mountain wilderness, big ambitious and my dedication to armchair mountaineering.

If you haven’t checked them out yet, I hope you enjoy them…

  1. Fritz Wiessner and Dudley Wolfe on K2
  2. Lessons from the Yosemite Waterfall Tragedy
  3. Why the European Guide Certification is Still the Benchmark
  4. Rarely Visited Sikkim: 2010 Expedition
  5. The Remaining 8,000ers Winter Ascents
  6. Age, National Pride and Everest
  7. Recycle Camp Stove Fuel Canisters
  8. Mount Fitz Roy: A Mountain Day Dream for Hikers and Climbers
  9. Carpe Climb ‘Em: Follow Through on Your Life List
  10. Several Perish on Denali in 2011

Thanks for dropping by again. If you enjoyed the insights of this post and the many others, please consider following the Suburban Mountaineer on Facebook or Twitter. Carpe climb ‘em and have a Happy New Year!

Winter Break Reading

/ Andrew Szalay / Leave a comment

The winter solstice has come, the days are getting longer and it looks like it will be a dry winter, especially in the northeastern part of North America, unfortunately.  I hear the Front Range in Colorado is getting snow, however. That’s good.

I asked Santa for a snowy season in Peaklessburg, but it looks more like I am getting a lump of coal; I don’t know what I did to deserve this again.

I wanted to recommend just a couple of good winter reads for those of you taking a bit of time off work around the holidays with some R&R time. They are all Internet accessible and freely available:

  • Skagit Alpinism — Colin Haley’s blog. He’s in Patagonia for their summer and he has already provided some worthwhile updates.
  • James Pearson’s blog — His climbs are not as well known to North Americans but they ought to be. His blog is updated infrequently but worth checking out, even if just for his quality photography.
  • Matt McCormick’s blog — A native of Vermont and a good alpinist, his posts bring you into the climb — often with just trip reports but he often shares more color than that of what might go in the AAJ.
  • Mountain Rescue Blog — This blog by a first responder, Ethan Zook, gives information and matters to consider. We all engage in some risk so let’s embrace it. However, at the same time let’s be prepared for that off percentage of things that go wrong.

Thanks for dropping by again. If you enjoyed this post, please consider following the Suburban Mountaineer on Facebook or Twitter. Carpe climb ‘em, have a happy holiday season and Merry Christmas!

The Driven and Irrational Adventurer: Maurice Wilson

/ Andrew Szalay / 1 Comment

Maurice Wilson… He comes up now and then – like earlier this year in Climbing magazine. Then I stumbled upon several other short pieces on him. He is a curiosity to climbers and non-climbers alike, though he took being nutcase to new levels… literally. Which probably makes him one of our own, unfortunately.

When people say climbers are crazy, I think the phrase was originally intended for Wilson. He was not a pilot and he was not a mountaineer, but he flew his own plane to Darjeeling, India, snuck into forbidden Tibet and attempted Everest in 1934. Then again, when has climbing ever been sensible?

What brought him to this climb was a mix of events in his quest for answers. What he was asking was not always certain as he was a bit of a wonderer. Wilson was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1898 and fought in the worst of World War I. He returned home a hero – earning the Military Cross – but was also injured and shell shocked. After the war, he had all the symptoms we know today as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. From this, he developed wonderment at the body’s ability to heal itself. However, for years afterwards, partly from his trauma, he suffered from various health complaints for years.

He grew restless and traveled to New York, then San Francisco hoping to find peace. He moved again to New Zealand running a couple of small businesses and married and separated two times in that span. Suddenly he returned home to England. En route, he met some yogis in Bombay. The yogis told him about many things, but what seemed pertinent to Wilson was about faith healing, including the importance of fasting. These, he felt, were the secret to overcoming his ailments.

When he returned to England – after encircling the globe – he had discovered the purpose he wanted to pursue. Mount Everest was back in the news after several years of no access through its host countries, but now Tibet was permitting climbers to approach the mountain once again. Wilson believed he would go there himself and climb it alone, proving the value of faith healing and the body’s strength. He did some “training” in Snowdonia to prepare and declared himself ready.

He also bought a used Gypsy Moth airplane and got licensed. As Lawrence Millman said, “That he earned his pilot’s license is indicative of the loose, if not downright unfettered standards of the day.” He crashed once before ever leaving England and then, a month later, started the journey again, taking him to Darjeeling, India.

The British in India refused his entry into Tibet, so he did what any single-minded adventurer did, he snuck in by disguising himself as a Sherpa and walked the rest of the way. Along the way in Tibet, he borrowed an ice axe, which he would us, and found discarded crampons but not knowing what they were for he cast them away again. Much was his innocence.

Of course, this story does not have a happy ending. Wilson hacked steps and made no progress anywhere toward the summit and was promptly beaten back by the weather. He returned with the help of two Sherpa guides that pointed out the proper route. Wilson and one of the Sherpas made it as high as Camp IV. His drive and Snowdonia training could not have prepared him for this: He started avalanches and broke ribs in a separate fall. He returned to camp again only to tune up his determination.

The Sherpas refused to go with him again. His diary was found later and its final entry read: “Off again, gorgeous day…”

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Sources: 1) Conefrey, Mick and Tim Jordan, Chapter 6 of Mountain Men, “The Misplaced Optimism of Maurice Wilson” (2001); and 2) Millman, Lawrence, “Our Man in Everest: Maurice Wilson Surfaces Every Few Years, Only to be Dutifully Reburied,” The High Lonesome, John Long ed. (1999).