genepires

This is something that Will Gadd wrote for Explorer magazine a couple months back. Thought you all might find it helpful and informative. Can be found at his facebook page and at http://explore-mag.com/2831/adventure/the-grand-delusion We need to stop telling ourselves lies about the risks of mountain sports I recently attended a rare event: a memorial for someone who didn’t die in the mountains. This particular high-achieving friend died of alcoholism, but was his addiction really so different than my own devotion to mountain sports? He knew alcohol would kill him, but chose to drink. And I am increasingly certain that if anyone spends enough time in the mountains, he or she will die there. I often hear friends make statistically insane comments such as, “You can die on the way to the mountains just as easily as you can die in the mountains.” That statement, for the record, is a stinking pile of self-delusional excrement that does not smell any less foul with repeated exposure. The ignorance behind those words makes me seethe internally—because I once believed exactly the same thing. I do a lot of presentations about mountain sports, and sometimes share a list of dead friends to remind myself and the audience that the hidden price for the stunning photographs is all-too-regularly life itself. There are 27 names on my list. Not one of those friends died while driving to the mountains. Not one died on a commercial airline flight. To equate the risks of mountain sports to everyday activities like driving or even the chance of death from cancer is completely idiotic. Every friend on my list drove to the mountains a lot, and some even wrecked vehicles and spent time in the hospital from those crashes. But they died doing mountain sports. As the list grows longer, I have a harder and harder time understanding why I take the risks I do out there. Yes, I’m careful; yes, I use good gear; yes, I run away a lot in the face of peril—but there are always elevated dangers in sports such as climbing, whitewater kayaking and paragliding. Each friend’s death has been a crack in my mental foundation of “managed risk.” And then, two months ago, that foundation was shattered with the sound of someone’s spine breaking. I had launched my glider off Mount Lady MacDonald, north of Canmore, and was 500 feet above my friend Stewart when he plummeted into the rocks shortly after takeoff. I almost puked in the air as I watched and heard him hit. I didn’t think anyone could survive the impact he took, and the spinning fall down the scree that followed. Thanks to prompt first aid from some great people who happened to be hiking in the area, and to a helicopter rescue team from Canmore, Stewart was in a good hospital only two hours after his accident. He remains there, with hopefully temporary spinal damage. I was thrilled when I heard that he had survived—unlike the dead, he would have the opportunity to say what he needed to his friends and family. He might even recover fully. Just one week before Stewart crashed, I had the best flight of my life, straight over the iconic granite spires of the Bugaboos in southeastern B.C. Pure joy is how I’d describe that flight. But I haven’t flown since Stewart’s accident in August; the thought honestly makes me nauseous. Why? Strangely, Stewart’s survival has affected me far more than if he had died. The difference with Stewart is that I can look into his eyes and see the damage. I can talk with Stewart and see the pain he is fighting through. While I admire the hell out of his courage and commitment to fight for every millimetre of progress, I also imagine not being able to hold my own children. Stewart’s wounds don’t fade into memory the way a fatality does—it’s hard to “get over” something that’s still staring you in the face. Some of Stewart’s comments are beautiful even as they are heart-rending: “If I could just get one hand back it would make all the difference.” Some of my own anger probably comes from an ever-greater sense of mortality. I desperately love the fullness of life, and I desperately love mountain sports. I look at Stewart learning to eat again (he does have one arm back!) and feel true happiness that he is able to, but then I look at my glider in its bag and have to look away. I love sharing the mountains with people, but wonder how many of them will end up on my list. My world view is falling apart, and it’s about as comfortable as getting scalded in the shower: I want to jump away, but there’s nowhere to go. No single day in the mountains is worth dying for, so it must be the sum of the days that is worth that risk. I tell myself that, but these days I have more empathy for the religious who have lost their faith. They, too, are often angry. The psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross said there are five stages of grief. If so, I’m only on stage two, anger, and a hell of a long way from the final stage of acceptance. How will I ever “accept” this level of carnage, year after year? This article was originally published on December 5, 2011

I got a old wild things andinista that worked good for even 4 nights out with a shared light tent. After 1 night, the additional weight for more nights is not that great. I think I used it at the 4000 cubic inch volume. not much technical climbing gear though, just glacier travel crap. If you where going to add technical gear, I suspect you would need to forgo some comfort items like a normal tent and use sil tarps.

what about something in new england? or a college in calgary?

if it was the Mammut Mook boot, it would be a perfect fit for you.

Hey bonewarw, do what is called a PM and send me your phone #. Click on my name in thread (underlined) and it will get you to place to send Personal Messages. (PM's)

lets make it happen! 3 is fine.

looking for the usual 5.9 terrain at LTW to knock rust off. Can be convinced to other objectives as long as I am back in monroe by 5pm. gene

appears that Dane is feeling better? glad to hear if true.

obviously so and I don't know her personally, but it doesn't mean she would be unconcerned about her son placing cams and nuts for his life safety. Just saying. Maybe I am wrong. BTW, you sure put the bar pretty damn high for us fathers and our little kids.

If mom wasn't worried enough already, filming 10yo climbing cracks and placing trad gear at index would make mom pass out.

can we feed dog food to homeless people? I got some bags to hand out.

a hole dug in good soil is free. maybe the rest stop should come with a trail and lots of little shovels. Or a dispenser with blue bags.

sorry,not enough time to read the article. I got a crazy 4yo running around. Salewa must either sell non climbing gear or they are big in the rest of the world and not here in NA.

very nice. Can't even comprehend a 10yo doing that.

if anyone doesn't get it, if you tie knots in your rope, you had better have enough rope in the rescue coils to be able to setup the rescue. You need at a minimum, twice the amount of rope coiled over the shoulder as the length between the two climbers to build a standard 3:1 after dropping free in down. (for team of two which this is usually used for) More in rescue coils than twice between climbers is preferred though so you can build standard 6:1 or canadian drop c 6:1.

very strange as one would expect a larger company to gobble up a smaller company. Could salewa be bigger than WC? Could salewa borrow that much?

paper lift tickets are soooo 2009.

nice job finding a couple hotties to climb in the alpine with. That kind of hotness can melt out a ice climb real quick.

canadians do it right, they just throw some sanicans on the side of the highway.

for a private enterprise to make this: -assuming a 20 yr life for the facility that comes to about $160,000/yr for 0% loan -assuming some profit needed for private entity lets assume that the facility needs to bring in $200,000/yr, only $40,000/yr profit -assuming a equal use per day all year, needs to bring in $526/day -assuming about a hundred people per day pay to crap in toilet this comes to about $5/crap -lots of assuming and we know about assuming but who would pay $5 to crap when one could run into the woods for free or use a retailer toilet after buying a $5 item?

not really familiar with DMM cams but maybe someone can educate me. These new demon cams look like a simpler cheaper version of the dragon cams. It looks like a tech friend or a single axle camalot. Is there more to this cam than meets the eye? (other than the webbing)

I feel your pain Tyson. I wasn't invited either but I don't ski. I will use that to sooth my bruised ego, even though I know the truth. And the truth is that Pat and Josh are ghey and I am not that cute to them.

those tools are very nice. If I didn't already have a pair, I would grab them fur sure.

drooling on great photos are a great way to spend some rainy indoor time. thanks.

I know is an oldie but still a goodie.....the best ski is the one having the most fun. sorry I had to go there.