Any mountaineers?

Black_Swan · October 2, 2012, 1:47pm

Did not know about that Higgs. Good find.

higgmond · October 2, 2012, 1:53pm

^ certainly doesn’t invalidate his opinions, but always nice to know some of the experiences that shape a person’s outlook on things.

Black_Swan · October 2, 2012, 1:53pm

cleverCFA:

The thing is, I don’t think you CAN really buy the experience that “true mountaineers” have. At the end of the day, anybody who spends the cash and gets babysat up to the top of Everest won’t get that same sense of satisfaction that someone who would have done it on his own, or unassisted, or whatever you want to call it.

Personally, flying gliders is my hobby, and though it’s a vastly different sport to mountaineering, there are similarities when you look at it in the context of this argument. You can “buy” experiences that you haven’t “earned”. I’ve paid money with a group of other glider pilots to fly with a guide pilot in the French Alps (he leads, you follow, you go places you would never dare go alone). Having had no mountain flying experience, I wouldn’t have dared to explore the Alps on my own, but with a guide pilot it allowed me to experience something I’d always dreamed of doing, and to this day I have amazing memories from that experience. Was I a bit of a tourist, yeah, sure, I guess you could call it that. Would I have a greater sense of satisfaction if I had managed to do it on my own by having spent years getting to know the mountains, yeah of course. Does having paid for that experience make me an asshole though? The fact is, yeah, I am a desk jockey, I sit in front of a computer 10+ hours a day and have chosen a lifestyle and career which only allows me to be a bit of tourist at some things. But does that mean I should just stay at home on my holidays or restrict my adventures to Disneyland and Cruise Ships? I know it wasn’t your quote, but I do find the attitude a bit elitist. Just because they climb Everest unassisted or were the first ones there or whatever, doesn’t somehow grant them ownership of it or give them a right to say who or how the mountain should be scaled. The point is, that mountain CAN be scaled by someone with relatively no experience. If you think Everest is too crowded or polluted because there are 30 tourists on it when you rock up, then go find another mountain that tourists can’t climb (i.e. K2).

Fair enough, I don’t disagree with what you’re saying. To be honest, I think it’s more the use of Sherpas to caddy your gear for you and do your work that gets me rather than the aspect of having a guide. But we might just disagree on that one. I definitely wasn’t recommending that people stick to cruiseships, just that they could use that time off to do mountaineering stuff more within their capabilities and learn the skills to attempt a major feat on their own. But to some extent I’m being nitpicky with the argument at that point.

Anyhow, pretty cool that you’re into gliders. Are these paragliders or hang gliders? Never got the chance to do either, although I always wanted to do paragliding. I figure with the cost of gear and certification combined with how busy I am with the other sports right now, that’s at least five years away. Do you skydive too? Because isn’t there some overlap between paragliding and skydiving?

Black_Swan · October 2, 2012, 1:54pm

Yawn…

Black_Swan · October 2, 2012, 2:14pm

Also, on a related note, for any Boston or NYCer’s interested in mountaineering ice climbing, I’ve used this school before (North Conway, NH) and they’re pretty good. They also offer multi-day Presidential Range Traverse and a few other good ways to kill a weekend and get the basics.

http://www.emsexploration.com/climb/ice-climbing-mountaineering-school/

Black_Swan · October 2, 2012, 2:38pm

That got me reading about how the company came to be, pretty cool read:

http://www.patagonia.com/us/patagonia.go?assetid=3351

I can’t imagine a youth spent entirely driving along the California coast surfing during the 70’s and making climbing gear with an anvil on the beach out of the back of your car when you weren’t in the mountains climbing.

higgmond · October 2, 2012, 2:42pm

^ yeah, pretty neat personal history. Would be interesting to know what his parent’s background/financial position was like, but don’t see that mentioned anywhere.

Black_Swan · October 2, 2012, 2:51pm

^I took it that it wasn’t extravagant from the begining where he lived on as little as $0.50 to $1.00 a day off of the pitons he was making. Hard to say though.

cleverCFA · October 2, 2012, 11:25pm

Black_Swan:

Fair enough, I don’t disagree with what you’re saying. To be honest, I think it’s more the use of Sherpas to caddy your gear for you and do your work that gets me rather than the aspect of having a guide. But we might just disagree on that one. I definitely wasn’t recommending that people stick to cruiseships, just that they could use that time off to do mountaineering stuff more within their capabilities and learn the skills to attempt a major feat on their own. But to some extent I’m being nitpicky with the argument at that point.

Anyhow, pretty cool that you’re into gliders. Are these paragliders or hang gliders? Never got the chance to do either, although I always wanted to do paragliding. I figure with the cost of gear and certification combined with how busy I am with the other sports right now, that’s at least five years away. Do you skydive too? Because isn’t there some overlap between paragliding and skydiving?

If forgot to mention I also read a good mountaineering book a couple of years ago that I really enjoyed. Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer. I couldn’t put it down, a real page turner. It’s based on a true story about one of the guys who first attempted climbing Everest.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4102763-paths-of-glory

BlackSwan,

I fly gliders, not hanggliders or paragliders. Same principles but different. I’ve skydived once but that was only so I would know how to use the chute I carry with me when I fly. If time and money are an issue I would go with paragliding/hang-gliding. Gliding takes a lot longer to go solo and the gear and cost of flying is 10+ times the cost of paragliding/hang-gliding. Definitely give one of them a go though, the sensations are unreal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzOLdf_i9MI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nNUmAUJUso&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Black_Swan · October 3, 2012, 12:42am

That’s really awesome. Now I finally know what’s in those long trailers with the fin on the back! I’ll definitely check out that book too.

Black_Swan · October 3, 2012, 12:51am

I always wanted to learn to paraglide for this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwWLnaME0CI

cleverCFA · October 3, 2012, 1:11am

F*cking hell!! Those guys must drink Red Bull.

Curious to know what their life insurance premiums are like.

The_Righteous_Hacksa · December 4, 2012, 6:25pm

Homies, Headed to Kilimanjaro tonight. My first time above 5k meters. Depending on how this goes I’m planning on alconcagua in earl Feb with marathon in Jan. Nepal in May. CFA level 3 in June. Charter by fall.

numi · December 4, 2012, 6:33pm

Best of success! Tell us all about it when you get back and take lots of photos. Godspeed

cleverCFA · December 4, 2012, 10:07pm

Don’t forget to take your books! And good luck!

ninja_economist · December 5, 2012, 4:46am

Best of luck man!

Rambus · December 5, 2012, 6:14am

All the best! Sad to say, it’s either the mountains OR the charter…not both!

The_Righteous_Hacksa · December 5, 2012, 1:44pm

Really mutually xclusive?

In that case at least I can use one of those fun NPV calculations to figure out which one I prefer. Thanks CFA!

Ethiopian Airlines lost my luggage in adis ababa but I guess I should just be grateful that a terrorist didn’t hijack my plane. Tanzania is great, weather is perfect, and I’m surrounded by cfavsmbas.

Inner_Evil_Voice · December 5, 2012, 6:41pm

Love the ninja pic.

ZeroBonus · December 5, 2012, 9:03pm

I think you will find climbing Kilimanjaro pretty pale compared to Ethiopian Airlines…