Really? I would beg to differ.
Rheinhold Messner said, “Adventure is impossible without the possibility of death.” Rheinhold Messner went on adventures. He climbed all 14 of the 8,000 meter peaks. That’s really, really hard to do, and if you tried it, you’d die for sure. Instead, you drove a car halfway up some 4,000 meter peaks, hiked a couple hours on a trail, texted your friends, drove down for dinner, and claimed it was an adventure.
“But I could have died, so it must be an adventure, right?”
Wrong. These days, more often than not, SAR will come and get you in a helicopter and whisk your sorry butt down to a hospital before you have a chance to die. Yes, there are exceptions, and people do die, which is tragic. But it’s not at all common, and a slim chance of bad luck doesn’t make it an adventure. Climbing a serac with no communication or evacuation ability on the first ascent of Annapurna is an adventure. Do you think Maurice Herzog had the option of bailing out in a helicopter?
Oh yeah, about that Maurice Herzog guy. He was pretty cool. Went and did the first ascent of Annapurna, which was the first ascent of an 8,000 meter peak, and he hardly had a rough map of the area going in. And you think you’re so cool because you’re “old school” and use 7.5-minute topo maps and a compass to navigate.
“I see your point for the average Colorado 14er climber. But I’m different. I climb difficult routes in adverse conditions, I’ve survived an avalanche, I’ve soloed Ariana on the Diamond in winter in 1 hour, and I’ve skied the Capitol-Snowmass traverse solo in winter.”
Good for you. All that winter-climbing, solo-climbing, rock-climbing, mixed-climbing, ski-climbing, other-cool-sounding-adjective-climbing stuff puts you a level up from the tourist crowd, for sure. But Hermann Buhl made the first ascent of Nanga Parbat, 8,126 meters, solo, without oxygen. That’s an adventure, what you’ve done almost certainly can’t be compared.
“So this is just about bashing Colorado’s mountains.”
No, while it’s true I like Wyoming better, Colorado’s mountains are pretty nice. And climbing all the 14ers could be an adventure--if it was 1923 and you were Carl Blaurock or Bill Ervin.
Adventure in Colorado’s mountains is pretty much dead. You can do all the difficult, dangerous stuff imaginable in the worst possible conditions, and chances are, if you’re in Colorado, someone else has almost certainly done it before you, and faster and in better style to boot.
“I climbed [insert big foreign mountain], therefore I am an adventurer.”
Possibly. But you probably used a guide, had the most modern and reliable equipment, and took a very well established route. I’m not saying it wasn’t hard, and I probably couldn’t have done it. But that doesn’t mean you’re the next Edmund Hillary.
“So you’re saying adventure is only possible on first ascents.”
No. You could climb Masherbrum. That would be an adventure, even though it’s been done before.
“But Pakistan is dangerous and airplane tickets are expensive.”
So take some boats and buses there. Or would that be too adventurous for you?
"So you're saying it's all about altitude and adventures can only be in the Himalaya?"
Nope. You could also go climb Monte Fitz Roy. That would probably be a real 11er adventure.
“This rant is stupid. All the comparisons are either hypothetical or references to pros, who are usually paid/sponsored/etc.”
Yes. Being a pro doesn’t mean you don’t count anymore. You and I are not adventurous enough to risk dedicating our career paths to mountaineering. That’s our fault, not Jimmy Chin’s fault.
Are you offended? That’s not the point of this, rather, it’s about perspective. Getting up and hiking a 14er is laudable exercise for the average person and a great way to get pretty pictures and good memories. But it’s not adventurous. Also, there are people on this board who do go on adventures. There are not many, but there are some. And they generally brag a lot less than the rest of us.
The point is, 99% of what we do in the mountains in Colorado isn’t half as cool or adventurous as what the real mountaineers do. A real, adventurous, mountaineer will be heading out on some poorly-described, difficult, run-out pitch at 20,000 feet on Nameless Tower when you're heading out on the on-ramp for I-70. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not exempt from this. I love the U.S. mountains, from Wyoming to Colorado to everywhere else, and I sometimes brag about my “adventures” in these mountains.
But at least I realize I’m not Rheinhold Messner when I climb a 14er.
Cue flame war...
