 |
|
 |
| - Free Speech, No Spam! - |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
03-28-2006, 02:28 PM
|
#1
|
|
Singin' in the spring...
Peregrinator is offline
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Look at how red I am.
Posts: 90,527
|
"Because it's there."
The words of great climber George Leigh Mallory, asked by a reporter why he wanted to climb Mt Everest. perhaps the most famous quote ever on climbing, and certainly the one that gets the most play among non-climbers.
In this thread, I will attempt to answer your questions about the craft of moving on technically challenging terrain in the mountains. Rock, Ice, Snow, Altitude...what do you want to know?
I started rock climbing a little over ten years ago, actually the week of the Oklahoma City bombing, by taking four days of lessons with other litsters and great friends atmas and HungryJoe. I started ice climbing maybe a year or two later, and I've been hiking all my life; I've climbed some technical snow and some high stuff. I certainly don't know it all, but I like it, and I like to talk about it.
Ask away.
|
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:30 PM
|
#2
|
|
Literotica Virgin
Marathonman is offline
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 9,300
|
Why can't people leave Billy Buckner alone?
|
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:31 PM
|
#3
|
|
hesterosexual
Hester is offline
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: to avoid complications she never kept the same address
Posts: 21,949
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Peregrinator
"Because it's there."
|
there have been times in my life i've felt like this about penis.
conquer and climb all over "because it's there."
__________________
Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.
You buttered your bread. Now sleep in it!
A
|
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:33 PM
|
#4
|
|
Beware the Zombie Cats!
Malachi is offline
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: 'Brotherhood of the Mace' Lodge
Posts: 4,552
|
In what way is "because it's there" a satisfying answer?
Would that be your answer?
__________________
Siglines are a waste of space. They never contain anything interesting. No one ever reads them anyway. --Malachi
RunForYourLives!
|
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:35 PM
|
#5
|
|
Singin' in the spring...
Peregrinator is offline
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Look at how red I am.
Posts: 90,527
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Marathonman
Why can't people leave Billy Buckner alone?
|
He played a non-climbing sport.
"If all else fails, immortality can always be achieved through spectacular error."
~Mark Twain, maybe? |
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:35 PM
|
#6
|
|
Literotica Guru
BlueEyesInLevis is offline
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Southwest
Posts: 10,827
|
Why did Hillary tell a group of people (mountain climbers I believe) her mother named her after Sir Edmund.... years BEFORE he ever climbed Everest?
Is that the kind of question you were looking for?
|
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:35 PM
|
#7
|
|
Singin' in the spring...
Peregrinator is offline
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Look at how red I am.
Posts: 90,527
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Hester
there have been times in my life i've felt like this about penis.
conquer and climb all over "because it's there."
|
That may explain its popularity as a pithy turn of phrase. |
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:36 PM
|
#8
|
|
Guest
|
|
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:36 PM
|
#9
|
|
Yes, it's really my ass.
LeahLo519 is offline
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 12,397
|
Have you ever almost shit your pants because you were scared?
__________________
 
Damn, it feels good to be a gangster.
|
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:37 PM
|
#10
|
|
Singin' in the spring...
Peregrinator is offline
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Look at how red I am.
Posts: 90,527
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Malachi
In what way is "because it's there" a satisfying answer?
Would that be your answer?
|
Well, my answer would be that I don't especially want to climb Everest. /evasive
I think it wasn't satisfying, but it does nicely capture the fact that mountaineering is a supremely selfish endeavor; no one benefits except the climber, except in cases of fundraising or glacial research or something. |
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:38 PM
|
#11
|
|
Singin' in the spring...
Peregrinator is offline
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Look at how red I am.
Posts: 90,527
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by BlueEyesInLevis
Why did Hillary tell a group of people (mountain climbers I believe) her mother named her after Sir Edmund.... years BEFORE he ever climbed Everest?
Is that the kind of question you were looking for?
|
:avery:
He was famous long before he climbed Everest, but I think she might be lying. |
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:39 PM
|
#12
|
|
Singin' in the spring...
Peregrinator is offline
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Look at how red I am.
Posts: 90,527
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Taltos
I'd like to go mountain climbing, but I have this medical condition: Sofaitus
|
Me too; I'm waiting for a remission period. |
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:40 PM
|
#13
|
|
Literotica Guru
snasu is offline
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: canada
Posts: 10,954
|
What does :avery: mean?
|
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:41 PM
|
#14
|
|
It's a Zen thing
Typo Fu Master is offline
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,973
|
I don't mean to be morbid, but the thought crossed my mind ...
Do you have any personal experience with a situation in climbing where one or more members have had to sacrifice themselves to prevent the entire group from dying? Is there any training in climbing that addresses this kind of situation?
On a lighter note ...
Ever had sex in the mountains? Was it different? Better? Worse? Did she compare you with the size of the mountain? Was the mountain's phallic nature an aphrodisiac to her? Inquiring minds want to know!
|
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:42 PM
|
#15
|
|
Singin' in the spring...
Peregrinator is offline
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Look at how red I am.
Posts: 90,527
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by LeahLo519
Have you ever almost shit your pants because you were scared?
|
Not that I recall, but I've definitely had moments where if I were so inclined I would have. There are times when if you fall, you're going to fall a long way, and you're not sure you can climb any further as a result of exhaustion or ability, and your legs start shaking ("Elvis" or "sewing machine" leg), your hands sweat, your brain starts seizing up. Climbing is a seriously mental game.
It's kind of comparable to tightrope walking; I know that you could walk fifteen feet along a two-by-four laying on the ground. Try it stretched between two telephone poles. |
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:43 PM
|
#16
|
|
Singin' in the spring...
Peregrinator is offline
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Look at how red I am.
Posts: 90,527
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by snasu
What does :avery: mean?
|
Avery Chisholm's favorite emoticon.  |
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:46 PM
|
#17
|
|
Chaotic Quixotic
Recidiva is offline
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Randolph, NJ
Posts: 76,367
|
How do you feel about the death zone, HACE and HAHE?
See, those are the things that make me think climbers are completely insane.
|
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:46 PM
|
#18
|
|
Dirty Grandma...
crazybbwgirl is offline
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Northern Ohio
Posts: 31,020
|
Why?
Oh - and what do you think of people who get lost/trapped on a mountainside and we spend thousands of $$$ in search and rescue to get them down? Shouldn't THEY have to pay for that? I mean - why should I have to pay for some - um - idiot (ok - silly person) who wants to just go out and climb around?
__________________
NOTICE: The intolerant will no longer be tolerated.
I said no to drugs - but they didn't listen.
The Mother Theresa of fellatio.
Stories
|
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:46 PM
|
#19
|
|
Singin' in the spring...
Peregrinator is offline
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Look at how red I am.
Posts: 90,527
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Typo Fu Master
I don't mean to be morbid, but the thought crossed my mind ...
Do you have any personal experience with a situation in climbing where one or more members have had to sacrifice themselves to prevent the entire group from dying? Is there any training in climbing that addresses this kind of situation?
|
The closest I've come to that is a friend who dies while guiding on Denali. A client had fallen and Chris went to help, fell, and died. I've never been "out there" that much in terms of danger. It's actually really rare, except for the world-class folks who are really pushing the envelope. Climbing has an undeserved reputation for hazards; most of them are easily mitigated.
Quote:
On a lighter note ...
Ever had sex in the mountains? Was it different? Better? Worse? Did she compare you with the size of the mountain? Was the mountain's phallic nature an aphrodisiac to her? Inquiring minds want to know!
|
Um, only on smaller mountains, never at any kind of serious altitude. Same as sex while camping. |
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:46 PM
|
#20
|
|
Literotica Guru
Moonlust is offline
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 6,164
|
The restroom situation.
So. What happens when your extra-tiny bladder doth protest?
__________________
all your tomorrows start here
|
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:48 PM
|
#21
|
|
Stop Making Sense
Morcheeba is offline
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Zanzibar
Posts: 43,760
|
Hi Pere.
How do you condition for a "climb"... err, what's your regimen before an expedition?
Are there times when you get exhausted and wonder, 'Why am I up here doing this? I need a nap but I have to stay focused.'
If so, what do you to stay alert and up for it all?
|
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:49 PM
|
#22
|
|
King Taint Kicker
KyleW is offline
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 16,248
|
What do you think of the guides who take "amatures" on major mountains like everest? With sometimes tragic results.
|
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:50 PM
|
#23
|
|
Singin' in the spring...
Peregrinator is offline
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Look at how red I am.
Posts: 90,527
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Recidiva
How do you feel about the death zone, HACE and HAHE?
See, those are the things that make me think climbers are completely insane.
|
I assume you mean HAPE and HACE?
They're significant hazards at igher altitudes, but if you're vigilant, they're generally unnecessary. You can almost always get down in time to avoid any serious issues with them. Acclimitization goes a long way toward prevention as well.
The Death Zone refers to the region above 18,000 feet, where the human body is unable to further acclimatize, and wounds don't heal. Digestion becomes difficult.
It's the main reason other than weather that the really high mountains are a very different kind of challenge. I'd go, with the right people and if someone else paid for it. |
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:50 PM
|
#24
|
|
~spankable~
Cherry is offline
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: right here
Posts: 5,889
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by LeahLo519
Have you ever almost shit your pants because you were scared?
|
Were you three, sweetie?
Big girls don't do that anymore, okay?  |
|
|
|
|
03-28-2006, 02:51 PM
|
#25
|
|
Singin' in the spring...
Peregrinator is offline
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Look at how red I am.
Posts: 90,527
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Moonlust
So. What happens when your extra-tiny bladder doth protest?
|
You hold it until you have a chance to pee. In particularly sensitive ecosystems, people pee in bottles and carry it out. |
|
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 12:32 PM. |
|
|
|
|
