Everest 2015: Style Matters

The word “style” is a personal description of how one goes about an activity, a task, medicine a sport. In climbing, the word style is loaded and used for both offense and defense.

As the Everest season begins, many in the climbing world will decry how Everest is climbed calling it not in “good style”. Their primary complaints includes the use of Sherpas, fixed ropes and oxygen.

They feel the mountain should climbed with little to no support, on the own terms of the mountain itself.

This is far from a new complaint in climbing.

As documented in the excellent film, Valley Uprising, Royal Robbins felt personally attacked by the brass style of maverick Warren Harding for using bolts to climb the Dawn Wall. Years later he came to appreciate the style yet remained true to his own vision of climbing the big walls.

The gold standard for climbing Mt. Everest belongs to Reinhold Messner with his 1980 true solo, unsupported, no supplemental oxygen climb from Tibet. Others have come close but none identical to this seminal event in high altitude mountaineering.

But to others, summiting Everest does not even include the word “climber”

Lets look at “style” ranging from the superficial to the substantial to the subjective

Dress

The lead guide on my Denali climb of the West Buttress stopped our rope lines. “Listen up everyone! Zip your jackets up, put any items loose on the outside of your packs in your packs, tighten ‘em up. Look sharp. I want to be the looking team on the mountain. Understand?”

So, was he being guilty of arrogance, in competition with the other guides, or teaching us a good lesson? Perhaps a bit of all, but I understood his point. If you look like a walking yard , you probably are. Being organized and “looking sharp” indicates a certain level of competency. That said. I’ve seen some pretty rag tag climbers who kicked my butt 🙂 Style matters.

Picks

As I made my way up the WI3 route on Colorado’s Hidden Falls, I cocked my right arm back and with a flick of my wrist swung my ice axe towards the near vertical ice. The sound of the pick entering the ice was a perfect high pitched twang – it was a good stick.

My good friends have taught me over the years that if I’m banging away at the ice, I’m doing something wrong. Ice climbing is a sport that requires good style. Climb with your feet, use your axe for balance, move slowly and deliberately. Style matters.

Holds

“Alan, you have a good hold to right.” Larry called out as he was belaying me on The Steeple in the Monastery outside of Estes Park, Colorado. I was stuck and trying to reach too far above me, threatening a quick fall.

The lesson I took from that day was that if I was trying too hard to move up, maybe the better path was to move sideways, or even drop a bit. Sometimes, in order to go fast, you have to go slow. Style matters.

Teamwork

“I don’t know if I can make.” He said in a quiet voice laying in his sleeping bag at Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face. “I just don’t feel right.” He continued.

We talked through his concerns, solving nothing as we drifted off to sleep preparing to attempt the highest peak on earth.

Being a good teammate is crucial on long expeditions, or even on a quick rock climb. I have found that I value these characteristics in a good teammate: humor, humility, communication, safety.

Everyone is different, and that is good. I like it when a teammate questions a decision or an action. It is healthy to have opposing views as along as it is done with respect.

Some of my , and worse, memories of expeditions are based on the relationships I formed during the climb. Style matters.

Support

I let my forehead rest against the near vertical ice wall under the deadly ice serac near the summit of K2. Crossing the Traverse, I could not breath. I gasped for air, closing my eyes assuming my front points would hold me. I was stuck.

A moment passed then I heard my name, “Alan.” It was Kami Sherpa, gently calling out. With one word, he brought me back into reality and I continued my climb to the summit.

Many people decry the use of hiring support for large Himalaya climbs. While I get the idea of climbing with no support and admire those who have the strength, knowledge and fortitude to go totally unsupported, I don’t understand the criticism of those who choose to use it. Further, I decry those who use support and then later claim to have climbed unsupported.

I wish my body was strong enough to carry an 80 pound pack at 25,000 feet, but it’s not. I wish my knowledge of every mountain I had climbed was such that I didn’t need guidance on the route, but it’s not.

Yes, at times, I cringe when I’m ed like a small child on a mountain, but I factor in the motivation of the support. I don’t take it personally, I take it with gratitude, a gift. Style matters.

Ropes

“I would never climb Everest, all you do is jug up the fixed ropes standing in line.” the gentleman told the group at a holiday party. He looked me squarely in the eye with his proud declaration.

I smiled and moved on, refusing to engage. The fact is, for me, I like fixed ropes and they have saved my life on occasion.

“Jugging” is a time honored part of big wall climbing, but I’m not qualified on any level to address that part of the sport. But that is not what is meant with respect to Everest climbers. Once again, a failure to understand, or perhaps respect.

Most of the large mountains around the world are “fixed” with a thin nylon rope along the route, especially on the steeper parts or those that have crevasse danger. Not using the fixed ropes in these areas is unwise and dangerous. Pride has killed many a climber. Style matters.

Oxygen

No vignettes on this subject as anyone who has read anything on climbing 8000 meter mountains, especially on the Internet forums, know that this is a heated subject with hard, immovable lines.

The basic argument is that using supplemental oxygen is cheating and the mountain should be climbed on its own terms, in other words, if you need supplemental oxygen to summit, you shouldn’t be there.

Sigh.

Similar to using ropes, where do you draw the line? On Everest, according to the Himalayan Database, 97.3% of all Everest summiteers have used supplemental oxygen and those who do not are twice as likely to die as those who do use the extra Os.

So, while I fully understand the argument for not using it, I don’t understand the criticism of those who choose to use supplemental oxygen. But this is the essence of “style”.

The most famous alpinist who summit 8000 meter mountains without using extra O’s have been profiled as having above average physiology. For example VO2 Max levels are often twice that of the average person. I’m not at that level.

My VO2  has been measured at 44, good but not great. I was pleased that I was able to climb to the high camp on Manaslu at 24,500 feet or 7467 meters without supplemental oxygen at age 56. But I did go on O’s for the summit push and was criticized by some.

I admire those who try to summit Everest without O’s. I watched my friend Samuli Mansikka from Helsinki, Finland summit K2 without Os – it was impressive, and painful to watch.

This post will not resolve the debate but only give a platform to those who want to bash those who use it, so bash away – you not get any reaction from me! And you won’t change my mind either 🙂 Style matters.

Traces

One area everyone should agree on is to limit our impact on the terrain we love. The Leave No Trace ethic calls for us as mountaineers, alpinists, boulderers(?) … “climbers” to minimize the impact.

The reality is that we all leave traces from trails, chalk, bolts to ropes. Are they avoidable? Absolutely but it takes a willingness on everyone’s parts. Perhaps this is where style all comes together. Style matters.

Style

OK, so what is “style”? The text book definition says: a manner of doing something. Synonyms include: manner, way, technique, method, methodology, approach, system, mode, form, modus operandi;

Often it comes back to some standardized set of rules by which style can be judged. Back to the early Yosemite days; Royal Robbins was so frustrated by the antics of Warren Harding that he began to write down “rules of climbing” It gained support in some circles but others simply ignored them and climbed to their own voice.

Style is good, style matters. It gives us all a benchmark for comparison, a level to aspire to, a measure of our own ability. But to use style as a way to build oneself up by putting others down goes against the spirit of climbing in my view.

So, back to Everest. This year we will see many styles on the Big E from absurd to admirable. Hopefully every climber can learn, respect and be safe.

Style matters.

Live free and Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything.