SummitPost.org

Borut's newest article on the front page inspired me a little idea, why not make a compilation ("list" page ?) of all trips to mountains undertaken during the time of a business trip ? I've read a couple and I think there's something quite funny and entertaining to do about it
Go ahead for some TR or article links !

On business trips, sometimes multiple trips with other trips for pleasure:

My area/ranges: 4 of 8.
My mountains: 5 of 10.
TRs: only 2 of 10.

Some of my other SP stuff was also on business, i.e., Texas material.

My personal frustration, living in the Flatlands, is that it's hard to get to mountains often except on business.

I've done other things during business trips but it's awfully hard to get acclimitized during. Has to be on one end or the other.

Last year I went mountain biking in Laos to kill some time in between the Buddhas Birthday get together and the Trade Show. Banged out a few dives in the Gulf of Siam.

Three years ago I went to Nepal for three weeks between business meetings. Some people got tired of waiting and I came back to a synopsis of what went down on the back end. I guess that's my point. Business can be jumpy with people demanding right now action. Hard to do when you're at an intermediate camp running up the acclimitization days. Cell phones etc have given business an urgency - an immediacy. So when you're away for a long time, your business goes over a cliff.

So, if you've got time to kill on a business trip, probably should have a back up sport like MTB or SCUBA.

Unless you're like Borut with fixed concert dates.

I never have (my trips go to boring places), but my dad did once on a trip from the US to Europe. Somewhere in the depths of my archives is a picture of him in a business suit wearing borrowed boots, pack and using a borrowed ice axe.

visentin,

Funny, I've thought about making a list for "business trip / weekend trip peaks," but didn't feel like I had broad-enough content. (For instance, my list would be limited to the U.S. and to cities where I have focused my business travel over the last several years, etc.) Such a list would benefit greatly from having 2 or even 3 collaborators in other regions to contribute.

Great idea - I say "go for it."

I've gone to Seattle several times and bagged a peak after the business was over. Went to SF/Oakland for a meeting and then went to Yosemite. May go to LA this summer for work and hit the Sierras.
There's no better feeling than stripping of the suit in the back of a rental car, putting on the schoeller pants and driving into the mountains for a long weekend.

I was assigned to Orange, CA for two weeks at a time. During the weekends I went to Tahquitz Peak, San Jacinto Peak, and Mount Langley. There was something inherently cool about checking two bags: one with suits and one with climbing gear.

Due to airline tickets being cheaper if you stay over a Saturday, my ex-boss was happy to have me stay the extra couple nights. Difference in airline tickets more than covered the hotel so I stayed extra nights a few trips, in Seattle and in New Hampshire.

Let's go !
http://www.summitpost.org/list/617037/m ... trips.html

Arthur Digbee wrote:TRs: only 2 of 10.

Which ?

sarah.simon wrote:Great idea - I say "go for it."

You too !

Unfortunately my job doesn't have me travel much at all... I did go to Vegas once for a conference, but didn't have time (or a car) to do any exploring outside the city. Would have been nice to hit up Lake Mead.

I do it all the time... Sometimes its not a peak but some quiet camping and hiking.. I suppose at least 20 peaks by this tradition. My employer is also very accommodating.. I travel frequently so there arguments against personal time at the end or beginning of a trip are weak. I have also brought my bride with me a couple times. It is one reason I keep this often suck ass high travel job (the job itself doesnt suck, the travel does).

I used to travel to Europe a lot on business.

I'd often sneak over to Chamonix for some fun on the side:

http://www.larsonweb.com/Bctry/TripRepo ... amonix.htm

http://www.larsonweb.com/Bctry/TripRepo ... monix3.htm

http://www.larsonweb.com/Bctry/TripRepo ... monix4.htm

Everything about this trip (actually two trips) was weird. Clients called at the last minute, insisted they needed me there in person though my job was mostly to wait around until they did something stupid that crashed their production run. (I wasn't allowed to talk directly to the people in charge of the production run.) This usually happened on a Friday night, but they wanted me to be in their offices during normal 9-5 hours, so I'd twiddle my thumbs all day long, then end up fielding the call on my cell phone in a restaurant or some such, then rushing back to my hotel to get network access just in case the problem was something that had a solution other than "didn't we tell you a million times not to do that?". (If I hadn't flown to California, I'd have gotten the call during my business hours while sitting in front of my computer.) Anyway, after delaying my vacation for the first two-week trip, I fly back to Boston only for my boss to tell me to fly back to LA a couple of days later. I cancelled my vacation plans and repeated the whole scenario. I returned to Logan around midnight one night, slept in a little the next morning, got a call from my boss asking where I was because he needed to see me right away. You guessed it, I got a long vacation after all, because they laid me off. Among the few compensations, I brought my crampons along each time, and managed to sneak out for two hikes up Mt Baldy.

Lucky me. The best 9 years of my life as Field Service Engineer. Go to Germany: Trek all over Bavaria and Austria. Ski and Snowboard. Go to Norway. Go to Scotland, winter climb, trek. Go to Japan. Go to US and several trips to trek in Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia. Go to Italy and seriously winter climb and mega cycle. Over 400 flights, and lived in hotels. Phew !! What a life of experiences.

Well, I put my head to study, cramming 3 yrs into 2, and it paid off. Little work since recession, though hoping to return to the same line of work.