seeking new adventures

[max]

ok. I've read (some) of the postings in the recent threads about fees and about bolting on Concord. It made me think about adventure. Ok, let me digress a bit into each thread, then pose my question.

First, bolts remove some of the thrill/adventure of climbing.

Second, fees make it harder to adventure (hard for me to climb Serpentine Arete when I can't get a permit) and they also just remind me that ten thousand other poeple want to do what I'm doing. How novel.

So my question: What do we do to find new adventure? New sport? New areas? New styles? New Spandex?

[jblakley]

I've got it! Extreme hiking. Do dangerous things such as venture off trail occasionally. Or leave the water filter home on purpose. Deal with Giarda on it's terms. Hike with a honey suit on in bear country.

Ok sorry I know this was a serious question. I get sick of the whole media blitz on so called extreme sports. Maybe we could move a humorized version of this over to spray.

Jim

[forrest_m]

OK, here's one: I don't carry a cel phone in the mountains. I know it could save my life, or my partner's, I can think of a thousand scenarios in which I would *wish* I had one. But I still choose to leave it in the car. To me, the whole point of alpine climbing (or any wilderness travel) is to be self sufficient, to be left to my own resources, even should the worst happen.

(In addition to the fact that reception is limited, and so carrying the phone might only be a false sense of security. But I think I would feel the same if it were a button-sized satellite phone)

I have mixed feelings about this. A friend of mine was the belayer in a serious accident on Prussik Peak two summers ago, and after a difficult descent, ran out to get help. The chopper got his partner to the hospital and he (mostly) recovered - but the kicker is that the docs said that his internal injuries were so severe that if he'd gotten to the hospital 2 hours later, he would have died for sure. (As it turned out, he tried to call for help on a phone carried by a backpacker, but was unable to get reception). Fortunately, my buddy won this race - but a working phone would have added a huge margin of safety without altering the outcome.

So there any real difference between organizing a rescue by phone from the scene and hustling out to civilization to do it in person? Is there any difference besides the time involved?

[jon]

My vote is for extreme freestyle walking. It's kind of like skateboarding but without the board, and done usually after consuming large amounts of ethanol containing beverages. They could make a video game from this, where you hop from bar to bar and in between you do stunts, chucking your meat down railings and flagpoling on street signs. You get points for how sick your tricks are and you spend the points on drinks at the bar. Games over when you rupture you lid. You could have a Mardi Gras level where people are trying to kick the crap out of you while trying to do tricks, meanwhile the cops are shooting rubber bullets and tear gas at your ass.

On a more serious note I think diversifying you outdoor pursuits might make everything you do more enjoyable. I love to mountain bike, there are some good local trails for after work rides and you can find places in the mountains on the weekend when the weather isn’t good for climbing.

 

[David_Parker]

I am also an avid sea kayaker and find that I can feel quite "remote" at times. At these times I often wonder what ramifications an accident would have. I have felt that the consequences could lead to death faster or more easily than when I'm ice climbing or alpine climbing. I am more inclined to carry a marine radio when kayaking than a cell phone when climbing.

For anyone interested, I'm still looking for a partner to paddle some remote stuff on the west side of Vancouver Island, probably in June. You must be experienced paddler but do not need to own your own boat because I have an extra. DPP

[Jedi]

Geeze what is not crowded nowadays? You have to find something that reqires a great deal of suffering. Not that others will not be out there suffering also, there will just be less of them to trip over and bump into.

Nudist camp at the north pole?

Sledding down talus fields?

Laying on rail road tracks on dark, rainy nights?

Running through thickets of devils walking sticks in a speedo?

There is much solitude to be had, you just have to give it some thought. Hope this is helpful.

Since my bigger climbing trips are way too far apart living in the mid-Atlantic region, I took up something that is fun, exciting, is not an x-game, yet. Motorcycle road racing! It can be crowded in turn one and two at the begining of the race but you get a little space after a few turns. at 130mph, draging your knee, back end sliding about, life's problems drift away. Much like being in the mountains but at the speed of a nasty whipper. You won't see anything faster than 160mph or slower than 50mph. It can be a good workout, depending on the length of the race.

Ski diving is fun but over too quick.

Scuba is a little slow paced.

Bungee jumping- over way to fast and could get boring doing over and over.

Surfing-ya gotta have waves and it's cold out your way.

pengulium (sp?) swings are fun but you gotta have something to jump off of.

Running from the police in a fast car or motorcyle-fun but scary and generally look down opon, but fun none the less.

HEY! you got that big space needle! that would be fun to base jump off of. probably looked down on by someone.

Snowboarding or skiing is great but seasonal.

O oooo, I got it (haven't tried it myself), buy that Vertical limit movie and watch it more than once. Have to mix in a little Cliffhanger to spice it up.

Other than that, I am not qualified to make any other suggestions. Sorry

have fun!

[ScottP]

Perhaps there is adventure in finding a way to avoid the fee/permit system that seems to be more and more a part of our avocation.

(There is a way to get in to do Serpentine Arete without having to get a permit and without running into The Man.)

 

[nolanr]

How about this? When you decide to climb a peak, don't look at the Beckey guide, don't look at the Nelson/Potterfield guide, don't put a post on this website for route beta, maybe don't even look at aerial photos in a book. Just go out there, eyeball it, pick out your route, and go try it. Once upon a time, that's what mountain climbing was. Except the approach hikes were 30 or 40 miles or something, depending on how remote the area was. I've done it a few times, not on anything real technical, but it's pretty fun. Not that I'm claiming an FA, but if you don't KNOW that somebody already climbed it that way, and don't read their description of how they climbed it, in your own mind it's still kind of like uncharted territory.

[max]

you guys are lame. I wasn't asking for advise, I was trying to spur some thought.