Sponsorship in the Modern World

Here's a photo from a news site posted publicly on Facebook that pretty much sums it up:

Back in the days of mega-expeditions with hundreds of porters and horrendous environmental impact, climbing on the backs of a pyramid of logistical support, sponsorship meant the equivalent of millions of dollars and banners and flags and photo ops. Anyone remember the Nike ads from K2 1978?

Over time this evolved into mega-cool climbers using the gear or waving flags or whatever in return for funding the trip. That hasn't changed much over time as a general rule.

For a while, there was a wave of "everyman" climbers. Normal family guys and business people riding the edge of the coolness wave showing that it was possible to balance a normal family and employment life with climbing and mountaineering. Then the noose tightened and the wave switched to freakishness. You'd then find "first left-handed, right eye dominant, 5'9" red head to climb Everest in purple" and the like. These became so silly that the corporations sought to distance themselves from the lot.

But how do you define cool? According to an article in one of the major climbing magazines a couple years ago (old enough that without signing up I can't get to it from the websites), climbers started doing insanely stupid stunts to get funding. The bottom line of the slightly tongue in cheek article was that spending 100 hours scamming for a free pair of shoes that you could get by working at McD for 10 hours seemed like a bad use of time.

When I was at the Winter OR Show in SLC January 2014 I was slightly offended and appalled at the number of people there trying to get free gear and sponsorship from almost every single booth. It explained why some booths had rigid security systems in place to keep you from going in and seeing their goods unless you were a properly registered media or buyer with an appointment with the rep you already had relations with.

Carstensz - Logo Wear Festival at the Summit

In my "Carstensz, Stone Age to Iron Age" book HERE I explained how all of the "guides" abandoned us at the summit so they could take their slew of photos with sponsor jackets and banners and goodies and cards and plaques. It was with absolutely no level of exaggeration in the hundreds! They were loading new memory cards in between shots. They changed their jackets and t-shirts and hats to get all the photos in. Instead of rescue gear they carried backpacks full of sponsor logos. We were on our own for the entire descent aside from a guide we had to actually threaten to help us across the Tyrolean Traverse by helping to belay us on the transition from the overhanging rock to the cable harness.

And I still haven't even touched the surface of the charity climbers who live off their charities, another of the dirty little secrets stifled by the code of silence that seems to permeate the climbing world. For a brief introduction I can refer you to Krakauer's Three Cups of Deceit.

While lots of modern people make fun of the jolly old days of gentlemen climbers using up their savings, investments, and trust funds to support their life of adventure, before long, it will be back to these good old days and the paychecks will be scant in quantity and amount.

Crowded Trails with Nowhere to Go

I'm a member of the R2R2R group mentioned in this article on Trail Crowds in the Grand Canyon HERE in which it's apparent that runners are of course being blamed for dropping trash all over the trails. Oddly, I rarely see a runner carry more than a few goo packets and water bottles. And a few dozen runners here and there on crowded days means maybe 72 goo wrappers, assuming they all drop their trash along the trail.

Sorry NPS but I think that the thousands of daily gumbie hikers carrying their poptarts and pringles cans in one hand and their dasani in the other are more likely to be contributors. I also wonder about the tons of daily mule poop deposits.

Quandary in Winter - normally only a handful of others up there

I actually did a fast-pack trip from the rim to the ranch and back way back in the 70's. Before it was cool. Even then, there were a few hundred other people on the trail with various levels of consideration for Mom Nature. As well, you couldn't go 50' without stepping in stuff that came out of one of three ends of a mule.

If you've been following my exploits over the past few years you might have noticed that as of June 2014 I haven't been doing any of the 14ers like I did in the previous half dozen years in which I did one a month or more. For one thing, I've been in a strange sort of denial/funk/mourning after the death of a great guy I climbed with or near a few times in Ouray. It was due to a disaster on Liberty Ridge and it hit me hard.

For another I just can't find myself tolerating the crowds like I used to. I do like to run, and go fast, and enjoy the feeling of pushing my body into new areas of endurance pain. Contrary to the old school with their 40 pound packs for a day hike, it's not all about counting blades of grass and goat pics. Though I have still hit PR's while taking a few minutes out for my own goat pics.

Line to the Summit of Torreys. We took the Kelso Ridge and even that had a couple hundred hikers.

Contrary to the opinions of the non-hikers suddenly on the trails walking in 20' wide groups ambling, stopping suddenly to rest on the flats, dumping their packs in the middle of the trails and sorting through for a snack, etc. you should respect your fellow outdoor enthusiast and allow them the freedom to use the trail in spite of you.

It's gotten pretty dangerous to go fast on the 14ers around here. I've had a few run-ins with illegally unleashed dogs. all of whose owners insisted that their dog did not in fact jump under my feet causing me to fall. I suppose I have a vivid imagination or they are in cahoots. I've come around a corner to find groups of people laying in the middle of the trail whimpering and fighting and they get angry when I run around them.

Downhill is probably the least safe area to pass, but even uphill can be a challenge. Using Quandary as an example, normally when I start at the parking lot any "normal" hikers below the rocky point at 13,200' will be passed by me as I head to the summit. On a weekend that would be a few hundred. In the trees that's tough, but on the steep parts it's not too hard to pass on the scree and talus and still be off the fragile tundra.

And unlike them, I won't hang out trying to feed the goats or get a selfie with my arm around their necks. I've actually seen it happening. If it were the aforementioned classic hikers that I had to deal with, it's all well and good. In the big scheme of things we're all on the same page, enjoying the mountain in slightly different ways. They will respect their fellow hikers and step aside gracefully. But to be impeded by the usual circus act that the 14ers are quickly becoming, that's another thing entirely. And the weekdays are becoming almost as bad.

It's difficult to say though, since someone from these groups will fall in love, catch the bug, and come back time and again, and before long they'll have a 40 pound pack on with 10 pound boots enjoying the freedom of the hills, and it was all worthwhile.

So I haven't been up this summer. It hasn't felt worth the risk of injury to myself or others to enjoy these peaks in my own way. I've been running on mountain bike trails where it's actually a whole lot safer. Seriously. MTB riders seem to have a good sense of courtesy and we share the trails nicely. I've even passed a few.

Elbrus Weather at Barrels 6 July

Weather forecast for the Barrels huts on Elbrus as of 6 July 2014.

Elbrus Summit Weather 6 July

Summit weather as of 6 July 2014.

Everest Avalanche Disaster - An Unpopular Perspective

One problem common among mountaineers with juicy stories is the culture of preservation.

• Of Self
• Of the Route
• Of Other Climbers

That's why some people have complained about my Carstensz Book HERE when they noticed that at a certain point in the book I become even more vague and elusive. If they'd been threatened and received promises that they would be responsible for the entire mountain being shut down, they'd be a bit nervous about becoming a mountaineering pariah unable to join any team for any mountain. The same goes for dissing any of their partners too vigorously, perhaps causing the rest of the book to be just a touch fluffier than originally intended.

If a nationally recognized climbing competition champion had to crawl up 5.6 limestone on their belly, would you narc on them in spite of the consequences?

It's difficult then to be so far away from the action and reading the news and knowing that the whole story is lurking just around the corner. Be that as it may, it was refreshing to read this quote from the legendary Ed Viesturs:

In 1991, I went to the South side of Everest with two clients I was guiding, and four other friends. We hired a handful of Sherpa. I was the climbing leader, and I'd hired them, so I felt I should carry loads with them through the icefall every time they did. I felt like I should go along, to show them my respect. The funny thing was, after a week, I could tell they were pissed at me. I finally pulled one of them aside and asked what was up. They said that every load I carried, was one less for them. They looked on the situation as though I was denying them a chance to make money. Read more: http://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/outdoor/ed-viesturs-what-went-wrong-on-everest-20140421#ixzz2zczM1vlJ Follow us: @mensjournal on Twitter | MensJournal on Facebook

Even the tiniest suggestion that there is an economic impact of climbing on the sherpa culture should be carefully worded. I enjoy how all the old-timers are called upon to sound off on these issues, with plenty of juicy tidbits of historical information. Like this from Jon Krakauer:

These days, moreover, members are apt to spend even less time in the Icefall than I did when I was on Everest, eighteen years ago. It’s becoming increasingly common for Western guides and members to acclimatize in hypobaric chambers before they arrive in Nepal, or on other, less hazardous Himalayan peaks in advance of their summit assaults, greatly reducing the number of times they must expose themselves to the perils of the Icefall. Some members now make only a single round trip through it, while each of the sherpas supporting them must still pass through that hazardous terrain between two and three dozen times. Most Western climbers feel more than a little guilty about this, but I know of none who have ever offered to take an extra lap through the Icefall with a heavy load in order to reduce a sherpa’s exposure. LINK

Obviously he and Ed haven't talked about that. But in light of the very carefully and quietly ignored violent incident from last season we can suppose that no one should be climbing above, or ahead of, the sherpa. This of course exposes them to the Icefall in a different way. Here's an example of how to delicately discuss this:

The fight broke out during the peak climbing season between three European climbers and a group of Sherpas after a dispute over mountain etiquette. It caused the British, Italian and Swiss climbers to abandon their ascent to the summit. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2587846/Nepal-set-introduce-restrictions-climbers-Mount-Everest-death-zone.html#ixzz2zdmH4Dmh Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

If your guides were so busy changing clothes, banners, and toys to make sure they got summit shots for every one of their sponsors that they abandoned you to descend alone in a storm, would you write about it in spite of the consequences?

To me it's quite sad that anyone should die in an avalanche. Here in the US alone 26 riders died in the 2013-2014 ski season SOURCE and that's bad enough without the confirmed 17 dead from Everest last week. I've seen lots of avalanches and have a great respect for them. I am also saddened at those politicizing this event, and have seen a lot of trash talking on the 'net about it. When you only have a tiny bit of the story it's hard to make an informed decision.

I think if the season is closed that might have a serious negative impact on next season, and sounds like a knee-jerk reaction. The government is working hard as it is to add restrictions that prevent climbers from going without sherpa support, from climbing ahead of the sherpa, and even from trying to establish individual climbing goals. You can verify these HERE, HERE and HERE if you're so inclined.

We should know in the next few days how this season on Everest will play out. I'm hoping for the best all around, which might be an unpopular perspective.

Update:

Apparently here is someone unafraid to voice their own observations.

Quote:  In addition, a small but powerful group of Sherpa are threatening violence against any climber who chooses to stay. The situation has gotten so bad, the Nepali military is being flown into base camp today to try and protect any climbers and Sherpa who choose to stay. This is not what Everest is supposed to be about. I have to admit that I feel completely lost right now as my life, over the past seven months, has been focused on training and getting mentally prepared for this one climb. And now suddenly it's over before I even had a chance.

Training on the Colorado 14ers

I have the opportunity to do a Colorado 14er just about any time I want. Within an hour drive of where I live in Summit County there are a half dozen Fourteeners to choose from. I encourage my friends, including those I coach, to climb them whenever they can for training and building a base of acclimatization.

13 year old son on winter ascent of Quandary - summit pole

Last year I wrote the first draft of a training manual designed for the first-timer at hiking a 14er in Colorado.

Couch to Colorado 14er

I let over 100 people download and review it, and offer suggestions. I sorted through those and have recently finished the final draft. I'm making it available as an ebook and in print, and with supplementary email, Skype, and Hangouts coaching and support, as well as members-only audio and video enhancement.

If you're curious, check it out HERE to pre-register to be notified first when it's available.

Do a 14er in '14!

I want 1000 people to commit to climb a 14er this year. Take the challenge.

I had someone respond to this with a statement about environmental responsibility. I can see the potential for confusion, since it's maybe not 100% clear that I don't mean all 1000 at once, on the same trail at the same time.

In regards to Pikes Peak:

More than 500,000 people reach the summit house every year by the Pikes Peak Highway, Barr Trail or the Pikes Peak Cog Railway.

And of that number:

About 15,000 people a year attempt to climb Pikes Peak on foot. The 13-mile trail begins at the base of Pikes Peak in Manitou Springs.

These numbers are from the respected WWF [Article] and I generally believe them to be conservative. On my hikes in the mountains around me, I have seen various Colorado climbing groups having as many as 100 members hanging out on top at the same time. I have passed twice as many as that on Grays and Quandary on a weekday in the summer.

Summit of Torreys with Todd Gilles and about 100 others

I feel safe to say that in any given year some number between 100,000 to 200,000 hikers are on a Colorado 14er trail over the course of any given summer. 1000 extra hikers over the course of that same summer is .5-1.0% additional hikers. It's almost insignificant.

If you're ready to get a 14er summit this summer, go check out my Seven Summits Body blog  HERE and register now to receive a free download of my ebook "Planning Your Home Cardio Theater" and learn how to train in the comfort and convenience of your own home. I'll let you know when pre-orders are available for the books and training programs.

Do a 14er in '14!

Climbing for the Future of Climbing

My 13 year old son has been to the 14,265' top of Quandary twice before. He recently asked me about climbing it in the Winter, and I felt that he was ready to do it. He's been riding his bike about 150 miles per week average during the non-Winter months and in pretty good shape. Good shape involves mental as well as physical preparation.

Mount Royal in Frisco CO with friend Mauri

We did a test run on Mount Royal, a very steep (over 1000' in a mile) short peak outside Frisco Colorado and he did pretty good in spite of the deep snow. We did some night trail running on a snow covered dirt road near Dillon Colorado. Finally one day the stars aligned and we decided to go for it on Quandary.

It was a pretty good hike overall. The weather was warm and not too windy. On the way we ran into my friend Alan Arnette, who maintains an Everest News blog as well as Climbing for Alzheimer's. I was in running shoes and my son was in Sorel's. It was a bit slippery, and we had some issues above the bridge where there is usually deep snow to wade through.

With Alan Arnette and the Kite Lake 14'ers behind

We had decided to forgo snowshoes so that we could go a bit faster and lighter, and overall it was a good decision. In about 3:35 we hit the summit. I had to coax him past that zone of depression that hits all the newbies around 13,000' and makes them want to quit (so far nearly everyone I've taken up for the first time needs help mentally getting past that point). I needed to remind him to eat and drink. I needed to help him keep bundled up against the cold and wind. It was a great experience.

There we are huddled by the summit pole on Quandary

Then on the way down it was slow slippery going. At that point I decided that we'd need spikes if we were going to do this again. Which is likely. When we got home and had hot chocolate and snacks he asked me about how to work on beating his time and we're going to try another Winter ascent on the snow. It's really cool to see how he has picked up on my own focus on doing the route quickly and efficiently. It's cool to see him want to get faster and better at it. It feels cool to be passing on the torch and inspiring the next generation of mountaineers.

Share your story with me. How did you get the bug? Are you helping your children embrace this life?