Sierra Journal

Do Climbers Deserve the Selfish Rap?

2012-05-18T22:12:48Z

Recently a friend said to me “I don’t want to go to that event because all mountaineers and climbers are really selfish and I’m tired of being around really selfish people.” It felt like a smack in the face and left me feeling uneasy, because I’m a mountaineer, a member of this wacky climbing tribe.

The annals of climbing history are full of comments about how climbing is selfish, mainly from wives/girlfriends left behind, from climbers who nearly lost their lives trying to make sense of it all, or from media sensationalizing tragedies to capture readership. Yet I still find it puzzling that the climbing community is continually labeled as “selfish.” Sure we have our obsessions and idiosyncrasies, but I began to ponder whether I was really just in denial and didn’t want to admit the mainstream impression could be right.

Obsession? Does having an obsession make you selfish? Probably a bit, because if your obsession (or I prefer to call it passion) requires a high degree of preparation and impacts your lifestyle, but does that alone make you selfish? I can think of other sports besides climbing that require similar dedication, discipline, and time commitment. For example. triathletes are generally really into their sports, surround themselves with friends-slash-training partners, are gear obsessed, spend hours training and then analyzing their training results. Although triathlons are solo sports, there is a great sense of teamwork in the training phase and teammates often support each other during the race or from the sidelines. I’m not sure that obsession alone makes you selfish, perhaps just a dedicated athlete (business person, researcher, etc).

Mission Peak Summit – training with friends is also quality time.

Climbing only for oneself? No, climbing is not a team sport, but it does require teamwork (with the exception of soloing). Rock climbing parties of two or three must work together: swapping leads, providing a steady belay, offering encouragement however suits the climber best (some love shouts of encouragement…some prefer complete silence to focus).

Glacier climbers are tied together and, as they travel upward and across crevasse fields, their lives are in each other’s hands, or more accurately, ice axes. Glacier rope teams must sense the other’s pace and time their steps to ensure the rope does not become too slack or too tense. A good glacier rope team is like a living breathing organism traveling through terrain unwelcoming to the solo climber.

Rope team ascending Cotopoxi.

Climbers will walk past a dying climber to ensure their own summit success? The rare occasions when this occurs are well publicized as it represents either the worst of human behavior or part of an epic tale where lives were lost. This sort of thing happens from time to time in the high stakes world of 8000 meter peak climbing (Everest, of course, is the most obvious mountain to come to mind). Having been above 23,000ft (and no where near the heights of the “Big E”), I can speak from personal experience that I could barely get my own ass into camp, let alone would I have been able to drag an incapacitated climber up or down that terrain. Most climbers in the big mountains understand the risk they take and I personally would not want others to die in an effort to rescue me.

For each over-glamorized story of abandonment in the Himalayas, there are hundreds more of climbers risking their lives or giving up summits to help and save others. I have countless stories from friends and a few of my own. On a winter ascent of the Whitney Mountaineer’s Route, my friend, Rob, decided to stay behind with Bill and not go for the summit because Bill’s headache had gotten worse overnight (bad sign for acclimatization). It was our 2nd attempt of the MR in winter conditions and despite a major time commitment of taking off work, long drive to the East Side, arduous approach, Rob chose to stay with his friend just in case.

When I was in Ecuador in 2009 climbing Cotopaxi, the 2nd highest mountain in the country at 19,340ft, I was back for my 3rd attempt, coming off an injury but admittedly not in my best shape. My partner, John, could see that I was suffering from the strenuous nature of climbing about 18,500ft with a ways to go. I was struggling to keep my breathing under control and photos from that portion of the climb show the pain in my transparent expression. He approached me and just started taking things off my harness and out of my pack to lighten my load. He did so because that’s what partners do for each other, and he did so without any discussion (I probably would have said “no” out of pride if he had asked me if I needed help).

John on Cotopaxi right before he lightened my load

I also had an opportunity to support a teammate on Mt Baker in 2005. During a glacier travel & crevasse rescue class, we were descending on the last of the six days in a miserable downpour (think of the Pacific Northwest in July). One burly dude was carrying a rope as part of the group gear for which he was responsible. A wet rope can get really heavy and this fellow was beginning to suffer on the long descent. My group gear, since I was the smallest person in the bunch, was a measly snow picket. I still had lots of energy and whispered to the guy, so as not to draw attention and potentially damage the male ego, “I can take the rope if you are tired.” His eyes grew large as saucers and he said, “Really?” I quickly grabbed the rope, threw it on my pack, and quietly continued down the trail.

Climbers don’t care about their impact? I have also found that those with a love and passion for the natural environment, such as climbers, often become stewards of that environment. Most dedicated climbers I know practice Leave No Trace wilderness travel ethics to reduce their impact. Many climbers volunteer to lead trips for others (Sierra Club Peak Climbing or Bay Area Mountaineering Meetup leaders), teach survival skills (Sierra Club Snowcamping teaches how to survive if caught out in the winter), work on trail or route clean up, get the word out about important issues (such as the Access Fund campaign to help avoid California State Park closures), help with projects such as the American Alpine Club Buttermilks compostable toilet installation, and volunteer to assist with the search and rescue of lost hikers and climbers (like Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit). And these are only a handful of examples I can think of off the top of my head.

Are these examples illustrations of selfish climber behavior? I would be hard pressed to label it as such. I feel like these experiences in the mountains are bonding experiences and good climbing partners are friends for life. We become much more connected with the natural world and our role in it. We become more balanced when we return to “civilization” and have better perspective on our priorities. If these things make me a “selfish climber”, then I say, “Bring it on”!

Author acting as expedition medic for the team and porters on Makalu, Nepal

Top 10 Things To Do While Your Girlfriend is Climbing and Skiing Mt. Shasta

2012-05-17T21:53:44Z

So it’s your turn to watch the kids this weekend. #$%&! Or you just never got motivated when your wife said she was going to organize a ski trip to Shasta. Or maybe you’re just not that fit, and your backcountry skills aren’t up to speed.

Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows Open Backcountry Access

2012-04-16T19:58:29Z

This is huge, historical news for North Tahoe skiers. Beginning a few months ago, upon the purchase of Alpine meadows by Squaw Valley owner, KSL Capital Partners, the two resorts partnered up with the USFS to study the feasibility of connecting via

Get Fired up for Spring

2012-03-28T15:41:59Z

It would be an understatement to say its been a rough winter here in California. However, we have had our moments, and enough snow to get some good days in. Furthermore, it is now snowing, A LOT. All over Nor Cal! So, don’t even think about ha

Vail Resorts Purchases Kirkwood

2012-02-22T18:46:13Z

Whoa. Vail Resorts just announced that it has purchased Kirkwood. This, after acquiring both Heavenly and Northstar-at-Tahoe. The consolidation and Colorado-ification of Tahoe area ski resorts continues. What does this mean for Tahoe area skiers

AAC SNS ICE weekend at Coldstream Canyon

2012-02-08T17:33:08Z

The American Alpine Club Sierra Nevada Section held its annual ice climbing weekend at Coldstream Canyon the last weekend in January. It was my third year helping organize, and I can attest that it’s an event not to be missed! As usual, most of

Video: Gorgeous Time-lapse of Yosemite Country in HD

2012-02-05T16:36:56Z

This video is jaw-dropping beautiful. Check it out below and at Project Yosemite's Vimeo channel. Even though I'm still jonesing for snow, and we've hardly had a winter at all thus far, this still makes me yearn for climbing season!

Video: Boy Falls From Chairlift and is Caught

2012-02-05T16:26:38Z

With the sad news from chairlift fatalities this season like this and this (at our very own Sugar Bowl), it's nice to see a happy ending to this one. Check out the video below courtesy FOX 11 WLUK in Wisconsin. It shows a boy dangling from the chairl

Get Cheap Lift Tickets – Support the Sierra Avalanche Center

2012-01-17T16:23:45Z

The Sierra Avalanche Center is an indispensable resource for those of us who frequent backcountry slopes in the Tahoe area. When there's snow on the ground, they're out there at dawn assessing he snowpack so they can pass the information to you. A

Have an Ice Day in Ouray!

2012-01-17T04:22:01Z

It’s been five years since the last time I was in Ouray for the annual Ice Festival. The Ouray Ice Festival was first organized in 1996 by Jeff Lowe, and events such as the elite ice climbing competition, myriads of climbing clinics, slideshows and dinners generate proceeds toward the maintenance of the Ouray Ice Park.

I had a fabulous time in 2007, but I wasn’t sure if my newly reconstructed knee could handle ice climbing and the steep descents into the Park. However, all the other stars were aligning – I would be in Colorado for a NOLS Wilderness First Responder course and for a client board meeting. How could I be so close to Ouray and not at least take a peek?

After the final exam of the WFR course, I swung by Neptune Mountaineering on my way out of Boulder. After suffering year after year climbing in my Scarpa Inverno double plastics with intuition liners (the space age material that keeps your feet dry in tough mountain conditions, but can let your heels slide right up on technical terrain), I decided my Christmas present for myself would be a pair of more specific ice climbing boots and crampons. Perhaps if I suffered less, because I couldn’t trust my feet, I would ice climb more. I fully expected to be s.o.l. given the small window of time I allotted to shop for them, but I was pleasantly surprised with the wide selection of boots, including women-specific boots. A friendly fellow named Dan patiently helped me find the right fit of La Sportiva Nepal Evo’s and sized my new Black Diamond Stinger mono-point crampons so I could hit the ice climbing (Thanks, Dan!).

A painful solo six hour drive later, I was beat. I drove past my usual camping spot – the ice rink which is usually blanketed by snow – and was shocked to see the ice rink fully exposed and flood lights illuminating the entire area. Foiled! No way I could camp there! My BAMRU friends had mercilessly teased me when I would say things like “Why would you sleep indoors when you can snow camp?” I knew I would never live it down, but I texted Eszter, “Sooooo, about that space on the floor…”

The next morning I wolfed down an amazing breakfast burrito at Backstreet Bagel & Deli, parked near the Box Canyon trailhead, and hoofed it up the road to the vendor area, soy latte in hand. Ouray is located at ~8,000ft and I hadn’t been to altitude since my accident in April. I huffed and puffed up to the vendor area. Doh! But what vision graced my eyes when I crested the final hill??? The Arc’teryx tent! I ran/walked up to the tent and introduced myself to the wide eyed crew as a self-described “Arc’teryx whore.” They said they loved Arc’teryx whores and chided me for wearing Patagonia Alpine Guide pants. I swore that my Arc’teryx bibs were stashed in my rental and I would have worn them if it were colder. Of course, they couldn’t doubt my sincerity, gave me a special hat, and later treated me to a special hot chocolate and peppermint Schnapps pick-me-up. Brandon, the US sales rep, christened me with a new nickname, ArcHo. I dig it.

The festival provides a great learning opportunity by offering many half- and full-day clinic options. There are Intro to Ice, Steep Ice, Learning to Lead, women only, and many more clinics. I signed up for a the Outdoor Research Intro to Ice clinic because I wasn’t sure my post-surgery knee could handle ice climbing at all and was looking for a super mellow class. I also had some bad habits and could benefit from some remedial coaching. We had two instructors, Shingo and Dave, who were awesome. Before we even touched the ice, Shingo had all the students doing tool swing drills and demonstrated the “isosceles triangle technique.”

I hesitated getting on the ice, nervous about whether I would be disappointed by my knee or my fitness, but Dave seemed to notice and offered to give me a belay. I focused intently on swinging efficiently, hanging straight-armed and sticking my butt out to look where to place my feet, trusting my feet and standing up on them leaning my hips toward the ice. Dave shouted tips and words of encouragement as I slowly and efficiently worked my way up to the top…

It seemed my lack of strength and concern over my knee was actually making me a better climber! I found that more deliberate, thoughtful movements were efficient and less tiring. I was completely shocked that I reached the top without falling or having to hang. Second route, third route, then finally I had to hang to rest midway up the fourth route. I far exceeded my expectations and left the climbing area floating on a cloud.

After a long day of climbing, I hit the Ouray Hot Springs with the BAMRU crew. A $12 admission provides access to three pools: cold, warm and hot. Watching fluffy snow flakes drift down from the sky while alternating between the cold and hot pools was nothing short of magical.

The evenings in Ouray are filled with slideshows, good food, and a wee bit of debauchery. The main event Saturday night was the live auction of gear donated to benefit the Ouray Ice Park. Lots of great items were auctioned off, most staying below retail, such as down jackets, a tent, boots, axes, etc. Two of the most unique items were an ice axe signed by Ed Hillary which fetched $2,500 and a print of Vince Anderson taken by Steve House at the summit of Nanga Parbat went for $2,200.

Kelly Cordes, an American Alpine Journal editor, presented a thoughtful and hilarious slideshow musing on climbing, frustration of injuries, life in general, and most importantly, striped mullets. Having been through nine months of a difficult knee rehabilitation, I identified with much of what he said and was laughing and crying at the same time. Kyle Dempster presented a multi-media show about his solo climbing in Pakistan, solo bike touring and climbing in Kyrgyzstan, and several first ascents in China. The show was going way over the allotted time, but every time Kyle said “I will skip this part ‘cause it’s getting late,” the crowd would shout “no!”

After another half day of climbing on Sunday, I left Ouray for Denver with a heavy heart – sad to go after such a short visit, but feeling like I was part of the climbing community again…a community of people who’s lives are enriched by the challenge, thrill, and camaraderie of this unusual sport. With any luck, I‘ll be back next year, but I still insist on snow camping!