Ascent Epilogue
Why the hell did I do this
Good question. Lets begin with the reasons why I did not do it
Its not because of some death wish or anything like that dreamed up in moments of misery, even though this stuff really is quite dangerous at times. It is not because of the camping either -- theres nothing fun about sleeping on the ground even if you have a 3 servants waiting on you. It is not because of the fauna - unless traveling to the other side of the world to see pigeons and crows and donkeys is worthwile. (theoretically Ladakh is the last refuge of the snow leopard, regarding which one is contractually obligated to use the word "elusive" when putting it into a sentence, so the chances of seeing one are slim and none.) The scenerz really is not all that great either. I mean, trust me, the Himalayas are beautiful, especiallly the foothills and such. But the high plateaus like Tibet and Ladakh are more beautiful in the stark, rocky, mars-scape sense than in any Heidi picture post card sense.
The reason why I came here (and went up there) is because the place and the activity is so very extreme. The sun is intense, the cold is intense, the air is thin, life is barely supported. Likewise, climbing up the side of a huge pile of rock and ice with your legs on fire and barely being able to breathe and having to concentrate and maintain focus and carve that ice step in the ice field with steek while simultaneously maintaining a foothold and your balance and having another hour to go while not slipping and falling and ending up dead is about as extreme as a sport gets . (with apologies to all you skaters and surfers and rollerbladers out there, despite what modern marketing may tell you, your sports are about as extreme as eating a bag of Zessty Salsa Doritos compared to this shit) When I was a kid I dreamed of being an astronaut - well this is about as close as one gets to those conditions while staying on land.
Another reason is that its the ultimate individual challenge, and its so simple and easy in a certain sense. THeres only two possible outcomes. Either one goes up or goes home. Thats it. There is no middle ground, no gray area. Either you answer the bell and dig down and take the next step or you dont. A lot of writers & the climbing press, to the extent there is one, like to phrase things in terms of "you vs. the mountain". I think thats bullshit. The mountain is a bunch of ice and rock. It has no feelings. It does not care what happens to you if you grab the wrong handhold or whatever. It does not care.
You, on the other hand, do care. You came halfway around the world to do this and made all the arrangements. You care a lot. Its not you vs. the mountain, its you vs. yourself, and your own doubt, and pain, and fatigue, and focus.
In a way it is almost too easy - people seldom make real life as simple as the up or down, go or no issues of the mountain. Theres a lot more gray. Thats why its fun to do this, its a way to test yourself on a simple level by removing a lot of variables, and its fun when you pass.
Good question. Lets begin with the reasons why I did not do it
Its not because of some death wish or anything like that dreamed up in moments of misery, even though this stuff really is quite dangerous at times. It is not because of the camping either -- theres nothing fun about sleeping on the ground even if you have a 3 servants waiting on you. It is not because of the fauna - unless traveling to the other side of the world to see pigeons and crows and donkeys is worthwile. (theoretically Ladakh is the last refuge of the snow leopard, regarding which one is contractually obligated to use the word "elusive" when putting it into a sentence, so the chances of seeing one are slim and none.) The scenerz really is not all that great either. I mean, trust me, the Himalayas are beautiful, especiallly the foothills and such. But the high plateaus like Tibet and Ladakh are more beautiful in the stark, rocky, mars-scape sense than in any Heidi picture post card sense.
The reason why I came here (and went up there) is because the place and the activity is so very extreme. The sun is intense, the cold is intense, the air is thin, life is barely supported. Likewise, climbing up the side of a huge pile of rock and ice with your legs on fire and barely being able to breathe and having to concentrate and maintain focus and carve that ice step in the ice field with steek while simultaneously maintaining a foothold and your balance and having another hour to go while not slipping and falling and ending up dead is about as extreme as a sport gets . (with apologies to all you skaters and surfers and rollerbladers out there, despite what modern marketing may tell you, your sports are about as extreme as eating a bag of Zessty Salsa Doritos compared to this shit) When I was a kid I dreamed of being an astronaut - well this is about as close as one gets to those conditions while staying on land.
Another reason is that its the ultimate individual challenge, and its so simple and easy in a certain sense. THeres only two possible outcomes. Either one goes up or goes home. Thats it. There is no middle ground, no gray area. Either you answer the bell and dig down and take the next step or you dont. A lot of writers & the climbing press, to the extent there is one, like to phrase things in terms of "you vs. the mountain". I think thats bullshit. The mountain is a bunch of ice and rock. It has no feelings. It does not care what happens to you if you grab the wrong handhold or whatever. It does not care.
You, on the other hand, do care. You came halfway around the world to do this and made all the arrangements. You care a lot. Its not you vs. the mountain, its you vs. yourself, and your own doubt, and pain, and fatigue, and focus.
In a way it is almost too easy - people seldom make real life as simple as the up or down, go or no issues of the mountain. Theres a lot more gray. Thats why its fun to do this, its a way to test yourself on a simple level by removing a lot of variables, and its fun when you pass.
posted by Miguel V | 12:57 PM
1 Comments:
Miguel, Your arm chair adventuring maternal side of the family has been following your travel acoount with great glee. Thanks for taking us up the mountain. "Ascent Epilogue" is an amazing bit of writing, as breathtaking as the picture at the top. Godspeed, gsd
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