HSTR 467 – History of Mountaineering
Dr. Maggie Greene
May 5, 2016
Final Essay
Bryant Lymburn
Beyond Climbing
For much of past human history there was a great mystery and fear that surrounded the mountains. The mystery of these mountainous places was due to the unpredictability and danger that occurred when one enters their realm. Great white snow clouds, great roaring rumbles of avalanches, and storms appearing without notice out of thin air were all very unpredictable events that created the feeling of terror that drove people from these prolific areas of the world. It wasn’t until the late 1700’s that people began to romanticize the image of the mountains with their strength holding themselves up high into the sky. People, soon after this romantic idea originated, began to explore the mountains with a more open mind and curiosity. This curiosity transitioned into the scientific exploration and a search for explanations of the unknown. Science pushed the boundaries of one of the greatest climbing scenes and generations in the modern era. Countries often used the excuse of exploration of science to help create funding for their real colonialist mindset of conquering these unknown mountains. Over half a century of exploration the science began to be completed and more limited at this point in the realm of mountains. Soon these counties switched to a mindset of national pride. Many countries from across the world have now put nationally sponsored climbers on some of the highest peaks in the world. Now the question is why people continue to climb in these dangerous environments, and more specifically why people are exploring beyond climbing and into skiing and snowboarding in such dangerous conditions and altitudes? Mountaineering offers enough dangers as it is, why do people feel like it is necessary to try to ski or snowboard in these environments as well? Is it due to the pure passion of the sport, is it something that they feel they need to do to individualize themselves, is it an addiction, or something more spiritual that cannot be satisfied with any other means?
One of the first people in the word that brought high altitude skiing into the public eye was Yuichiro Miura. Miura and his skiing were widely seen in the 1975 documentary ‘The Man Who Skied Down Everest.’ In this film, Miura became one of the first individuals to explore the possibility of skiing at high altitude by skiing down a portion of the Lhotse face using a parachute to assist in controlling speed. During this time of the climbing and global community climbing for the sake of climbing was not fully embraced yet. For this reason the Japanese expedition, that Miura accompanied, was there to conduct scientific tests while on the mountain. The Japanese expedition conducted many biological tests to help understand the human body’s performance at high altitude and conducted parachute tests on the slopes of Shangri-La to help understand the effectiveness of them in such a thin atmosphere. However it can go without saying that the main purpose of this expedition was really there for the filming of the documentary. Miura was no novice when it came to skiing for a time he held the world speed record on skis while downhill ski racing in Italy. Leading up to the expedition Miura climbs and skis down Mount Fuji, one of Japan’s most iconic mountains. It is here where he expressed his disappointment and lack of adventure the mountain imposed on him. Since “skiing is my doorway to adventure,” Miura states, this must push him to explore more treacherous mountains and where else is more adventurous than Mount Everest (The Man Who Skied down Everest). During the film Miura thinks of himself as a pilgrim who is “inspired by the majesty of Chomolungma” (The Man Who Skied down Everest). This quote again brings to light the idea of romanticism in skiing at altitude. Miura then attempts to ski down the Lhotse face in conditions that some consider suicidal. He skis the face with the assistance of a parachute while going down the mountain. He did this not only as a speed check, but to add adventure to the event and grace to his skiing. This ‘grace’ again plays on the romantic and beauty of it all and makes the event more dramatic and more of an art form than it already is.
Others today still use this romanticism to explain why they are high altitude skiing. When asked in an interview “Why high altitude descents?” Fredrick Ericson replied with “”Most of all because Himalaya is the most beautiful place on earth. After skiing about 100 days in the Alps during the winter it’s nice with something different. High altitude skiing is a great challenge. There are many factors that has to come through to make it a success and that’s very exciting” (ExWeb Interview – Fredrik Ericson). This idea of beauty continues to draw people in and they are entranced by it. Just as George Mallory was whenever he was away from Mount Everest. As Miura used the both backdrop and skiing to give explanation as to why he did high altitude skiing what other reasons are there for people continuing with this process.
Being in these beautiful areas is all well and good, but does it really condone taking the greater risk to ski in them? After the film ‘The Man Who Skied Down Everest’ was placed in the public eye, and the possibility of attempting to ski down these mountains at such great altitude was established, it inspired others to follow suit. For many who do not associate themselves or are not part of the climbing community it is hard to comprehend why an individual would put their body through such a demanding, taxing, expensive, and life threatening ordeal. Adding skiing to the category of high altitude mountaineering many consider it to be insane. One of the great quotes as to why people climb is given by the late great English climber George Mallory during an interview, “Because it’s there.” Overall this does not answer the question, but in his anger and irritation it becomes a perfectly reasonable explanation. This quote also exposes some ego that many climbers possess, and even transfers into the high altitude ski community as well. This can be seen in the quote from Steve Marolt, “There’s a hell of a lot of ego in what we do. Let’s be frank.” (Paumgarten, Nick). This quote comes at a time when other members of the high altitude skiing community criticize the Marolt family for not skiing always from the summit, and not skiing the most difficult lines down the mountain when they conduct their high altitude descents (Paumgarten, Nick). Even Miura, one of the founders of the sport is criticized for only skiing a particular face of Mount Everest, which some consider quite low on the mountain. Does this ego in which these skiers have built up push them too far and beyond reasonable thinking?
Another example of this ego playing a role in the high altitude skiing community is the controversy between skiers and the use of supplemental oxygen and Sherpa support while climbing the mountain. Skiers like Minnesotan Dave Watson and Frenchman Marco Siffredi both used oxygen in their attempts on K2 and Mount Everest respectively (Cook, Trey and Dave Watson). Both were able to accomplish their goal of skiing down some of the most technical and demanding routes on each mountain. Each had Sherpa to help them navigate and carry gear up the mountain. However this is met with stark contrast by the Marolt Brothers and their respective escapades into high altitude terrain. The Marolts rely on bodily limits to decide when and where they ski while climbing. They also port all of their own gear up the mountain and do not rely on the support of Sherpa (Skiing Everest). Each side of the story argues that their technique is better, but both are trying to display an ego that on is better in some way over the other.
It is human nature to have the desire to compete so there is a fine line between human competition and human ego. For the context of this paper this ego will be focused upon. Ego is defined to be “distinguishing itself from the selves of others” (Definition of Ego). This is one of the reasons why people are conducting this high altitude skiing. There is no explanation as to why people feel the need to do this, but they feel like they need to individualize themselves and prove that they are better and more capable in some way and choose to express this through high altitude skiing. This can be directly seen through the snowboarding of Marco Siffredi. Marco grew up and began snowboarding in the Chamonix Valley at the age of 16. Living and growing up in the Chamonix Valley presented Marco with many skiers to look up to, admire, and idolize (Smith, Sarah). Growing up skiing and snowboarding around such big name skiers such as Jean-Marc Boivin and Bruno Gouvy who were already skiing and snowboarding steep technical lines in the area pushed Marco to follow these idols (Smith, Sarah). After only a year of snowboarding under his belt Marco was setting first descents down some of the steepest and most technically demanding terrain available in Chamonix, such as the North Face of the Aiguille du Midi (Cook, Trey). Soon Marco pushed himself further into bigger and steeper mountains and soon made a name for himself in this small closed off skiing community. Marco wanted more however he wanted to push further. Marco then went on to attempt a descent on Mount Everest. Marco was the first to fully descend Mount Everest from its peak without the removal of his snowboard (Cook, Trey). Later the young man went to Mount Everest again to descend a steeper more demanding line down the mountain, but unfortunately perished in the attempt. It is unknown how Marco perished. Speculations range from avalanche to exhaustion. So the question now is why would someone go back to what they have already done / conquered?
The next argument that can be seen is the desire to push oneself further and beyond what they feel is mentally possible. Individuals who were raised to always do the best in whatever they do gain great satisfaction of accomplishing goals. These goals allow people to push further and explore themselves and their surroundings. Without goals there would never be progress. According to Mike Farris author of “The Altitude Experience,” skiing is the next step and evolution to mountaineering (Regenold, Stephen). This evolution can also be seen again in Marolt brothers as they had the mentality of just exploring “the next valley over” (Skiing Evereset). This next valley over mentality pushed them to Alaska and eventually to the Himalaya where they always were pushing themselves further and gaining a greater experience and handle on the act of high altitude skiing. These strives for pushing yourself further could also be attributed to a true passion for the sport.
Does this reoccurring return to these high altitude mountains that have already been conquered fall under the category of true passion for the sport? For many of the adventurers exploring into the realm of high altitude skiing they say that they are doing it for the love of skiing. Quoting Mike Marolt “Once you make turns, it makes everything right” (Paumgarten, Nick). This exclamation makes it seem that skiing is a justification for climbing. This passion can also be seen again in Marco when goes to attempt a snowboarding down Mount Everest for a second time. Marco’s passion can be seen by the quote from Trey Cook, a friend of Siffredi, “Siffredi was driven by a pure love of steep terrain—not the pull of sponsorship. He was full of salt. He was focused on riding down steep faces and that’s all he cared about.” (Smith, Sarah) This shows how engrained the passion of skiing is to some individuals and there is no other means of satisfying this desire. Furthermore it can also be thought of as being an explanation to explain that putting yourself through the physical and mental torture of climbing that everything will be alright once you make it to the top because you’ll get to enjoy the skiing that will be had on the descent. However there is a problem to this idea. The idea that climbing is always followed by enjoyable skiing is not the case. Many times during the Marolt film, ‘Skiing Everest,’ it is discussed that the conditions in the Himalaya usually do not make for enjoyable skiing conditions, but rather that of “survival skiing” (Skiing Everest). They argue this because the true passion for skiing allows them and makes them ski any way.
At what point then does this passion turn into an addiction? Can it? Addiction is defined to be “a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (e.g., gambling, sex, shopping) that can be pleasurable but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships, or health” (Psychology today). In the terms of this definition high altitude skiing can and is definitely an addiction that has grabbed ahold of these individuals. These people commit their lives to a venture that only gives temporary pleasure and that has definitely been altering their health from frostbite to death. But why are they becoming addicted to the sport of high altitude skiing? The main reason that these individuals do high altitude skiing and snowboarding is for the rush. The rush of fear, excitement, and joy that all accompany such a difficult task play into this addiction. This rush is usually caused through fear and stress associated while climbing. The fear is often given as a fear of heights or falling. Acrophobia as it is medically known is not necessarily an instinctive fear, but one that is developed typically through an experience during child hood (Acrophobia: Fear of Heights). This fear can create anxiety and stress. Under high stress a bodily reaction causes muscles to ease and senses to be heighted. It is able to do this by the brain tricking signaling receptors in the brain by releasing extra adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol (Klein, Sarah). Adrenaline is “known as the fight or flight hormone” is an immediate reaction to stress (Klein, Sarah). It elevates heart rate and attributes to a burst in energy. This chemical becomes very useful when skiing at high altitude as the increased heart rate allows for greater blood flow to the muscles giving them new life. Norepinephrine is a similar chemical to adrenaline that is created under stress conditions, but works to make the brain more responsive and alert (Klein, Sarah). However the third chemical of cortisol is where things can get tricky. Cortisol does not react immediately with the brain like the other two. It focuses on shutting down bodily functions that are not necessary to survival at that moment. Having elevated levels of cortisol which are continually released during a stressful situation can lead to decreased libido and to depression (Adrenaline Levels and Depression). For many the act of climbing continually puts individuals at an elevated stress level from fear of falling, fear of avalanche, fear of frostbite, to fear of death. This constant level of stress means this cortisol is allowed to build up. This could possibly lead to high altitude skiing members becoming depressed over time. This depression is then subconsciously fixed by placing the body into more precarious and risk elevated situations in order to regain the initial energy rush received from the adrenaline. I believe this can be seen as to why Marco ventures back to Everest for a second time to ski “a more difficult line” (Cook, Trey). Marco could not satisfy his addiction with skiing in the Alps any further after getting such a high while snowboarding Mount Everest. The depression that might have fallowed this first descent then pushed him to venture again onto the summit of Mount Everest choosing to do an even more demanding line with rewarding him with a greater energy rush. In the end it ended in his untimely death.
Death, death is what ultimately makes people outside the climbing and high altitude skiing community ask the question, why? Why did they die? Why did they have to die now? Why were they in a position to get themselves killed? And ultimately the question of, why participate in high altitude skiing? To the person participating in the sport there are sometimes no explanations in which they can give. There are so many emotions involved with such a demanding sport that they fall in love with all aspects of it. Each person will answer the above question with their own personal response because they all get to experience it in an individualistic way. After compiling research it can be seen that romanticism, ego, personal effort/goals, passion, and addiction all can play a factor in the reasoning behind these individuals hobby of high altitude skiing. Ultimately who are we to judge? Every sport and activity has its inherent risks and consequences and at one time were thought of as being taboo. Eventually we will not need to ask these questions and learn to accept peoples decisions as to what they choose to do in their lives.
Work Cited
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