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davester wrote:
The point Ironmac is to get yourself up into a beautiful environment. There are many beautiful climbs on earth where ladders are installed on difficult sections (Half Dome in Yosemite for instance) If it's wrong to use a ladder is it also wrong to use ropes, crampons, and all the other paraphernalia mountain climbers use (and in fact on Everest ascents pro climbers use ladders to help get through the icefields near the base).
Using that logic, get a helicopter then.
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You're suggesting that mountain climbers should use helicopters? You lost me on that one.
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While the idea of mountain climbing not only sounds like way to much work, but scares the hell out of me. Yet I understand the draw to those who enjoy and relish it. I have the same draw but in a different direction - literally.
I think nothing of strapping 2-4 scuba tanks on and swimming 100 feet down and a few thousand feet back into underwater caves. It's an escape and gives a sense to ones own mortality and insignificance in the grander world. The feeling is philosophical in nature and hard to explain beyond that.
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davester wrote:
I've done a lot of geologic mapping on foot in remote areas of Nevada and have found myself in a number of situations where I suddenly realized that one false step or stumble would be the end. The trick is to keep your wits about you, crank up the caution level, and not freeze up when that happens. It's a wonder that we don't hear more stories like this.
What we did was mild by most standards...two years ago my sons and I followed the path cut into Moro Rock (Sequoia Nat. Park). The view was awesome. On the way down, in fading twilight, I realized that for most of the path we were but twelve inches from falling a couple thousand feet. Keeping a cool head, in spite of not having flashlights, was essential. Standing on that rock with my sons is still one of my favorite memories.
Dave
...on the trailing edge of technology.
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(vikm) wrote:
I'd imagine climbs to Everest, etc. are in fact beautiful if you could see past ones nose half the time during the climb 
I suppose it's more of a law of diminishing returns for me. I'm more than happy to see the beauty in far less complex things and am fortunate to escape to places here on the coast that are void of "noise" if need be.
Climbing a mountain with or without snow as some sort of an accomplishment or means of pushing oneself seems a bit cliched to me these days. I guess those people that sell those "inspirational" posters need something as a subject.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying people shouldn't do it. Their choice. I just don't I'd get the same sort of sense of accomplishment or feel better about myself having done it. Now if I could learn to hit a curveball over 400ft consistently, that's a different story!!
I agree with your sentiments.
For the record, I believe a great deal of these people (those who get a "thrill" out of being in harm's way) are wired to be like that. Me, I like to ride a motorcycle to get my thrills, something that others may find disturbing.
Also, I do believe it is something particularly human about wanting to "conquer" nature; the sentiment about accomplishment is subtext for superiority.
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maco wrote:
I was surprised by the number of young children climbing Angel's Landing, who were running ahead of their parents.
How young are we talking? 'Cause I've got young kids - all under 9, and to think of them up there doing that literally scares the crap out of me.
maco wrote:
Not the kind of place where you would want to get light headed or dizzy.
That would be me exactly. Then I'd fall, and I'd be dead...
Jeff
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It will be safer once it is filled with water from the melting ice caps. I like to look at the positive side of this msm negative.
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I hike above the Palisades in NJ and NY with my Poochie, and the Long Path can run as close as a few feet from a 400 ft vertical drop. I stay on the trail, but I hold my breath when Poochie wanders a little to close to the cliff for comfort. I then get my senses and bring him back on the leash for a while.
