And I bet you thought Twight was dead.....

[mountainsandsound]

My biggest climbing influences have all been people I knew -- climbing partners, mentors (miss you, dan ) and acquaintances.

 

 

Sorry to veer off topic, but are you referring to Dan Smith? I've been wondering about him.

[ADKMan]

My biggest climbing influences have all been people I knew -- climbing partners, mentors (miss you, dan ) and acquaintances.

 

 

Sorry to veer off topic, but are you referring to Dan Smith? I've been wondering about him.

 

I was wondering about Dan Smith as well. Although I never met him we conversed several times while I was preparing for a Rainier summit attempt last summer. He was very helpful to a stranger that he never met. I don't think I have seen a post from him since last July.

[rob]

Yeah, that's the guy. He occasionally still pops up on here.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

My biggest climbing influences have all been people I knew -- climbing partners, mentors (miss you, dan ) and acquaintances.

 

I'll never forget sitting at the belay below givler's crack and seeing Layton come soloing up next to me looking for a route, cigarette in mouth. Or seeing pictures of Ivan's alpine cape on dragontail during a thunder and hail storm. Or watching Tvash change his shoes half-way up a slab with no pro in. Or cutting a stuck rope off-route on cutthroat with Dan, or that time we tried to climb Ptarmigan in winter during a powder storm (what were we thinking and why didnt we just go skiing?)

 

Maybe I'm simple, but stuff like that has had a much longer lasting impression on me than any of the climbing celebrities and attention-seekers like Twight, et al. And I suppose it sounds corny, but I'd rather read cc.com than books on climbing written by guys I don't even know.

 

 

[matt_warfield]

But it is inspiring being around the "celebrities" sometimes.

 

With climbing you can run into one of the top climbers from time to time and really enjoy a chat.

Edited February 1, 2013 by matt_warfield

[Tyson.g]

 

Sorry folks, but meeting really good climbers (AKA celebrities) is a bit different than posting on cc.com

 

Different yeah.

Better? If that's what you are into.

 

Edited February 1, 2013 by Tyson.g

[matt_warfield]

I find it inspiring to meet real people that are good at what they do live rather than filter the internet to figure it out. Sorry if that bothers anyone.

[mountainsandsound]

I find it inspiring to meet real people that are good at what they do live rather than filter the internet to figure it out. Sorry if that bothers anyone.

 

I like to do both I guess. I have found CC to be a pretty good source much of the time. Personal experiences laid out for someone's analysis are hard to beat. With some exceptions, red flags tend to up with "always" or "never" thrown into climbing advice. That is seems to be a good filter.

[matt_warfield]

[ivan]

god help anybody i ever am to influence, and those that i mighta, i blame instead the ghosts of warren harding, jack keroac n' mobuto sese seku

[Choada_Boy]

Raise your hand if "Extreme Alpinism" was an influential book in your development as a climber.

[Dane]

Did mine, still does and is the one book I recommend to anyone wanting to get into or get better at alpinism.

 

It is *THE* the fast track on the learning curve.

 

That said even though I was climbing hard in the alpine before Twight even picked up an ice axe. My guess is everyone on this thread and a majority of the members here on cc.com own a copy.

[dberdinka]

It was an incredibly good book particularly considering it came from such a D-bag!

[ivan]

i stole my copy, then promptly gave it away

[Dane]

Interesting follow up to Twight's original comment.

 

http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2013/02/epictv-interviews-ueli-steck-on.html

[tvashtarkatena]

There is only one influence! GASTON!

 

My copy was sacrificed during some extreme alpinism.

 

I only wish it had been more absorbent.

Edited February 19, 2013 by tvashtarkatena

[Buckaroo]

O2 isn't cheating unless you claim you did it without and are gaining something from the climb like a sponsorship. Comparing to Lance Armstrong is inaccurate, he's a pro athlete in a competition, most climbing is not even a competition.

 

The O2 users on Everest are a distinct minority of the climbing world and many of them aren't even true climbers, they are just doing it to get up the highest peak.

 

Real climbers know who these Everest peak baggers are and understand that they wouldn't summit without all the support and the O2, so BFD, if they have the money then go for it.

[glassgowkiss]

Did mine, still does and is the one book I recommend to anyone wanting to get into or get better at alpinism.

The first page should read: "Dear wanker, thanks for the donation! Now instead of reading this, just go climbing and climb a lot. If you don't die in the precess, you will get good at it!"

This would pretty much surpass any book advice. I am not aware of any of my climbing friends actually reading the whole thing.

And returning to the original post- who give the shit about oxygen, when you are getting guided. 50% of these people would not survive on their own.

[summerprophet]

I never liked that the summit of Everest is available to anyone with the money to spend.

d

However available it is,.... they still walk there. The summit of Everest, even with O2, sherpas, fixed lines, and the blessing of the weather gods, is still a shitload of hard work. Certainly more that I am interested in doing.

 

I openly admit to using Diamox (or acetazolydimide... most likely spelled wrong). Is it cheating? Sure, might be. Do I care? No.

 

The fact is 99% of us are without sponsors, and are just happilly following paths that others have already blazed. At Marks level, he may have cause to bitch, because he is in a very select group of alpinists chasing a very small amount of expedition funding. Making these claims loudly and fervently is Marks style. I generally don't listen much.

 

 

 

[CaleHoopes]

I think that as a climbing community, we discovered that not caring is how we generally respond to Mark's article.

[dougd]

[dougd]

I never liked that the summit of Everest is available to anyone with the money to spend.

d

However available it is,.... they still walk there. The summit of Everest, even with O2, sherpas, fixed lines, and the blessing of the weather gods, is still a shitload of hard work. Certainly more that I am interested in doing.

 

I openly admit to using Diamox (or acetazolydimide... most likely spelled wrong). Is it cheating? Sure, might be. Do I care? No.

 

The fact is 99% of us are without sponsors, and are just happilly following paths that others have already blazed. At Marks level, he may have cause to bitch, because he is in a very select group of alpinists chasing a very small amount of expedition funding. Making these claims loudly and fervently is Marks style. I generally don't listen much.

 

This may be a subject for another thread but in my opinion, there are things in this world that should not be for sale. Summiting Everest is one of them.

 

It's just me.

 

d

 

 

[tvashtarkatena]

Have we forgotten how our sport got its start?

 

Local Tyroleans hired as guides. To say there's something wrong with guiding a sought after objective like Everest is to forget why the sport exists in the first place - to climb the sought after objectives of the day like the Matterhorn.

 

Everest is a special case, however. The surrounding environment is delicate and the local population is cash poor. The Nepalese government doesn't necessarily plow those hefty climbing fees it so heavily promotes back into the affected region.

 

The numbers on Everest have skyrocketed since pre-packaged guided trips became available. The results have been mixed - more money for the local economy, more environmental impact, more folks exposed to accident.

 

I don't have a problem with any mountain being guided, as long as such environmental and local impacts are managed as well.

Edited February 28, 2013 by tvashtarkatena

[glassgowkiss]

I am sure Chinese really worry about environmental impact. [video:youtube]sLcgxIGTFRs

[tvashtarkatena]

I am sure Chinese really worry about environmental impact. [video:youtube]sLcgxIGTFRs

 

I'd like to see a video in the health and fitness forum on how to do this painlessly.