The brilliant editor in Chief at Alpinist sent me a Q&A form seeking to get some background context to her Sharp End (Editors note) for the jubilee issue no 50 of Alpinist.
The email read like this:
"Dear David,
Here are the questions that I've been asking people. These might not be the right questions, so feel free to share other ideas....
I’m grateful for any responses you have time to give. I’m hoping to finish this research soon, so if you have time to respond in the upcoming week, I’d be deeply grateful.
Please let me know if any of your responses are off the record—and mark which ones are as such—since there’s a chance I may be drawing on some of these answers for quotations in the magazine."
Below with the permission fro Alpinist Magazine and Katie Ives I decide to public my answers in full her on my blog. I hope some of you enjoy it.
1) When you think back to some of the major ascents since 2002,
which ones now come to mind as representing changes, controversies or advances
in the art of alpinism? And why?
Thinking for only a few seconds: Cerro Torre / Patagonia in my mind
has been the center stage of efforts questioning the impossible and see if its
possible. Alex Huber deemed a free of the head wall of Cerro Torre impossible.
And even if it has been done now it might well be impossible in the future, all
will be depending on the Rime conditions.
When David Lama first tried to free the head wall all hell broke
out. The style was questionable to put it mildly. Bringing Guides who
helped him get on to the head wall, adding bolts and littering the mountain
must be categorized as a toatal meltdown in terms of style. David Lama then cam back and set the record straight much to his credit.
The future is clearly laying in a free and clean effort, much like
the one HK and Kurk did a few years later. To me the HK - Kurk climb on Cerro
Tore must be one of the major break troughs in Alpinism lately. They changed
the game in Patagonia by chopping the bolt on Cerro Torre and now the
impressive Ragni Route is the "normal" route. Finally
this aesthetical route is getting the attention it deserves. What is
interesting with Ragni is that when Korra Pesce and Michi Lerjan
(November 2011) climbed the Ragni route early in the season
(much publicized climb) they said that it was the most exposed ice route
they had ever been on.
A few seasons some 200 (not sure of exact number) climbers did
the route in a single season some of who had virtually never been on a major
alpine Ice route before. In the season 2013/14 I think only one team managed to
climb the Ragni Route and this past season we where back to a huge amount of
top-outs.
I can't think of a single mountain / range with the heritage
and statue that has seen more developments. It’s down to more predictable
weather patterns and favourable conditions. Also the ability to
share info has altered the game in Patagonia. One can basically
sit in the US or Europe and follow the pressure systems and jump on a plane and
hit a perfect window. Two Italian climbers manage to land in El Chalten and
with in a week they had climbed Cerro Torre via Ragni and the Super
Canaletta on Fitz Roy. The Anthamatten brothers showed up and climbed virtually
"every thing" in Patagonia in 6-8 weeks. Then we have the Travers,
Reverse Travers etc. It’s simply the central stage for cutting edge
alpinism.
One other observation I have noticed is the consistency among
the top alpinists. If we look at the Piolet d'Or we se some names returning
frequently to the list of nominations. That is a change.
I also notice one other major trend. Small team in the lightest of
styles has carried out all the best and most interesting ascents. I can only
remember the NW Face of K2 and the North Face of Jannu as major efforts on huge
complex walls in the Himalayas carried out in traditional expedition
style.
We in the alpine community tend to look at this type of expeditions
and ascents as less impressive but I think they deserve credit. It’s
a mind opener and nothing prevents future generations to improve the style. Its
been proved its possible to climb this type of walls, not in the best of styles
but its possible. Any one complaining is free to try and improve the style and
set a new benchmark.
1b) In a 2000 American Alpine Journal article,
Steve House wrote that “the last stylistic climax in alpine climbing came in
the mid- to late 1980s when many of the 8000-meter peaks were climbed in
single-push style, often by new routes. Such climbing was termed ‘night-naked’
by Voytek Kurtyka; he, Jean Troillet, Pierre-Allain Steiner and Erhard Loretan
were at the center of adapting this bivouac-less style to the peaks of the
Himalaya. More recently, the ‘night-naked’ or ‘single-push’ approach has been
applied successfully to more technical routes in the Himalaya by the
Slovenians. But the Alaska Range and Patagonia are also important crucibles for
this expression of light and fast.”
Since then, do you think there have been other major
breakthroughs in the overall development of alpine climbing, as significant, in
their own way, as those of Kurtyka, Loretan and Troillet?
Not really. Iconic walls like the West face of G4, Masherbrum,
Makalu, Everest SW Face, the North Ridge of Latok, Meru, Thalay Sagar, Nuptse
South Face (even if the two French Stéphane Benoist and Patrice
Glairon-Rappaz climbed a new line in pure alpine style they opted to skip the
summit snow ridge and bail out) are all mentioned mountains are still up
for grabs to do in this light and fast style. Babanov made what I think is
an underestimated ascent of the West Pillar of Jannu the Piolet d'Or was cancelled
in 2008 otherwise that ascent would clearly have had to be awarded the
golden axe.
But no, I don't think we can say that we have really seen
quantum leaps like the one you mention above outside Patagonia, but that’s explained
above. In this perspective one might say that the Steck effort
on Annapurna is such quantum leap forward, sadly that ascent is some
what surrounded by some unanswered questions and even if I don't
question Steck others do (for jealousy reasons I think) and Ueli is not a very
vocal defender of his accent and I understand him, why bother. He knows he
did it and he is at peace with that and so should the rest of us be! I think
this is down to Ueli’s personality rather than an argument for Ueli
not being able to be more detailed.
2) Back in Alpinist 29 (2009), Chris Weidner
wrote about Ueli Steck as an example of the future of high-end alpinism; Chris
envisioned a return to the idea of a “climber” as someone who practices all
forms of climbing (as opposed to the distinctions common since the later part
of the twentieth century of trad climber, sport climber, gym climber,
boulderer, and so on) and predicted that the great climbers of the future will
be those who are able to blend the skills gleaned from those different pursuits
in hard technical routes at high altitudes: “Now, more than ever, climbers must
acquire an extraordinary level of competence in all genres to push the rising
standards of cutting-edge alpinism.” To what extent do you think this is true
now—or will be, in the future?
It’s pretty much happening right now. Most good alpinist might
not climb 9a but most can climb 8a that’s enough to climb 6c / 7a on
a very big mountain with a backpack and crampons. Also the
M-style climbing of former aid pitches in a semi dry-tooling style
has altered this game and you need to be both explosive and have a huge
amount of stamina to pull off M5/M6 at high altitude. When we are looking
at the best and hardest climbs we see them carried out of climbers that
are all round very strong climbers. Its super impressive!
3) In Alpinist 42 (2013), Kyle
Dempster wrote of the shift between the climbers of Mark Twight’s cohort and
young alpinists today: “minimalism is no longer seen mainly through the eyes of
the rebel and the mystic…. The superiority of fast-and-light, single-push,
disaster style is now largely the consensus [among high-level alpine climbers].
Today, it’s the spirit behind this form of alpinism, the art and beauty of
climbing, that we must work to uphold. More and more people are taking
cell-phones, computers and video cameras into the mountains. In emergencies,
some of these tools can save lives. Yet the overuse of these devices can taint
the internal clarity gained from time in the mountains….. In the future, the boundaries
between bouldering, traditional, mixed and alpine climbing will also continue
to blur. Lines like those that cobweb El Capitan, the Moonflower Buttress,
Cerro Torre and the Eiger North Face will also cover mountains in the Karakoram
and the Himalaya. With each first ascent, the next unclimbed route will be
harder to find. We must focus on methods that keep mountains clean, so that
future climbers will be able to see the ideals that they inherit: a legacy of
nearly pristine walls.”
To what extent do you agree with this prediction, today, two
years later? What do you see as the current discourse on style and ethics as
compared to ten years ago?
I think Kyle's right and spot on. At the same time its
politically unstable in the world and the time and efforts involved with
an expedition to Pakistan for example is complex, time consuming and expensive.
Weather is an issue but the forecasts and availability to
good forecasts are increasingly going to change that factor.
What I think we will see in the future is drone
reconnaissance of lines in the Himalayas and that will be a total game changer.
Take the North Ridge on Latok. Imagine if you can scout that line with a
drone and watch 4k footage from many angles and aspects of the climb, its
going to change what can be done and it will spark huge controversies
among climbers and alpinists.
Its not a development I think is desirable but I think its in
the human nature to try and eliminate obstacles preventing dreams come true and
using a drone might well be the key that can help some dreams come
true. Is it worth the price? Is its cheating? Is it
unethical? Probably all of them…
What contradicts Kyle’s possition is the rapid growth of
commercial expeditions to peaks a true alpinist can only dream of climbing
with out degrading the style. I'm thinking of the disastrous HIMEX /
Kenton Cool climb on Nuptse when they fixed the rout all the way to the summit
for paying customers. Kenton Cool used the fixed ropes to claim some
kind of record.
I just think that we will se this happen more and more as the
crowds who paid to be guided up iconic peaks will
unlikely decrease in numbers. I think that the commercialization
of climbing in the greater ranges is a real and present threat to clean
mountains and future generations ability to find and explore new things
and show what they are capable of in terms
of pushing the boundaries. Its so easy to think we are at the
forefront of what is possible, but just look at a video you shoot 7
years ago and compare it to a GoPro of 2015 and your
old video will look pre historic.
4) In Alpinist 49, Kelly Cordes wrote, “This
much is true: members of every generation, at every step, have thought they’d
bumped up against the limits of possibility. In their time and place, they may
have been right: at one point, 5.10 was unattainable, and 5.11 appeared blank
and holdless. Many of the existing classics once seemed unthinkable. The Golden
Age forever reemerges as climbers race ahead with newfound visions and
abilities.”
What do you see as some of the possible great climbs of the
future (not necessarily specific routes, but more in terms of kinds of
objectives)?
Like I said above there is plenty to do in terms of improving style
on existing routes. Technical difficulties will be pushed etc.
5) In Alpinist 39, Luca Signorelli argued, “We
make our ascents in an increasingly complicated and multilateral world. And
thus, mountains may no longer represent extraterritorial regions where people
can do what they want.” During the past few years, local communities have been
increasingly vocal about their concerns with practices of both mountaineering
and of mountain tourism—most recently with the writings by Sherpa and other
Nepali journalists about the struggles that expedition workers face on
commercial 8000-meter peak expeditions. To what extent do you see relationships
between local communities and foreign climbers or foreign clients evolving now
and in the future?
The climbing world are face with its own dilemma much like the
issues Samuel P Huntington describe in his book "The Clash Of
Civilizations and The Remaking Of The World Order. Again
the commercialization and human desire to fulfil personal goals and
dreams will trump what might be labelled as the greater good for local communities
and future generations, not to mention sustainability form
an environmental and economical perspective.
6) Back in 1963, Yvon Chouinard wrote the famous article “Modern
Yosemite Climbing,” predicting that “The future of Yosemite climbing lies not in Yosemite, but
in using the new techniques in the great granite ranges of the world…. Yosemite
Valley will, in the near future, be the training ground for a new generation of
super-alpinists who will venture forth to the high mountains of the world to do
the most esthetic and difficult walls on the face of the earth.” In the wake of the
first free ascent of the Dawn Wall, and of all the publicity surrounding it, do
you think that ascent will ultimately have an impact on climbing in the Greater
Ranges, as well as in Yosemite big-wall climbing?
Yes - and No.
Yes - to the extent that more people will start to understand what
seasoned Himalaya climbers already know. Climbing complex routes in the
greater ranges is not an easy task and most likely you will need to invest
years of trying and return many times to the same objective trying and
trying again and repeat the effort each time learning more and more of
what is required in terms of technical skills, fitness and conditions
to be able to one day finally stand on the summit.
No - That was very much a media event that went ballistic
and mainstream. I don't think we will see live broadcasts from an
alpine style attempt of the West face of G4 or at least I hope we will not. To
me adventures in the mountains are a personal experience that’s is primarily
shared with the climbing partner.
Its great too share the experience but don’t go "reality
TV style" climbing is way to personal and it would totally destroy
and dilute the experience and pleasure of going to
the mountains. We have to remember that climbing is a bourgeois
hobby that is very insignificant to most people in the world where many
live under duress on the run from evil in refugee camps or in other forms
of misery. Any one who can afford the luxury of even the
most insignificant venture out in the backcountry is living in
luxury beyond comprehension for most of the world’s inhabitants. We
should remind ourselves of the more often.
