The combination of skill, luck, and determination can propel a person to accomplish incredible feats. It can be the first ascent of the north face of the Mont Blanc or building the first airplane and test flying it. In either situation, the luck of having good weather never hurts. Yet, these would not have been accomplished if was not for the determination of people who attempted them and furthered the life and limb they knowingly risk in their attempt. The trust in their own skill, paired with the skill that their team possesses, makes it possible for some of these feats to be accomplished. With the combination of these three traits and a willingness to lose everything, anything can be accomplished.
In mountaineering, it can be assumed that in order to climb a mountain there is a need for some amount of determination. It would then, follow that the harder the climb, the more determination is needed in order to be successful in this endeavor. For example, in the book the The White Spider, the uncompromised determination of the group deciding to take unpleasent risk in order to accomplish climbing the north face would prove to be fruitful, to say the least. In another aspect of mountaineering, when Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary ascended Everest in 1953, the sheer determination to get to the top allowed them to climb what is now known as the Hillary Step, where others would have given up and turned around. However, without a certain amount of luck on both ascents, determination would have proved to be a deadly trait.
In the example of The White Spider, the assent would have been forfeited if for some reason, a storm rolled in, or piece of equipment had failed, or multiple other catastrophic issues that can only be prepared for so much. Yes, the team might have waited weeks for the perfect weather to present itself and double and triple checked their gear; yet, I am sure the multiple previous expedition did the same with cataclysmic results. Another example is when Fritz slipped on the “Ramp” face of the Eiger (Harrer, p. 97). Luckily, the rope was out on a snow ridge, allowing for this to slow his momentum before Heinrich rope caught, thus, allowing him not to be pulled off the mountain as well (Harrer, p. 97-98). Without this element of sheer good fortune, the amount of skill, and determination would have not be enough to be able to succeed.
In any adventure, it is the skill that one possess that allows for the task to be completed. If Fritz had never been able to take on the “Difficult Crack” with his skill in free climbing, the other seven climbers would have not have made if further up the mountain (Harrer, p. 88). His skill allowed for the endeavor to continue. Or, Heinrich’s own experience on screen, allowing him to better navigate scree fields. Skills that you possess, and ones that team members possess, can not only save your life, but also make it possible to accomplish tasks like climbing the north face of Mount Blanc.
These three important factors allow for a great sum of humanity’s feats to be accomplished. Furthermore, these are what the basis of mountaineering is all about, using your skill and determination to test you luck and find where the limits are. However, the lack of these attributes can cost many things, including your life.