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Posted:
Thu Aug 26, 2010 2:11 amby Sierra Ledge Rat
FortMental wrote:Why do we climb mountains?
I can't, for the life of me, figure that out.....
Just thinking about mountains is a colossal waste of time. I get crap done.
Gear is expensive And I HATE organizing all that shit, packing it, and then putting it all away afterwards. Getting to the mountains is always a long, dangerous drive. Ice, large animals, boredom.... just waiting for the chance to kill, or paralyze you.
And then there's the climbing itself. Hiking in with all that crap is a pain in the ass. I hate going uphill. Then there's the heavy breathing, the body odor, the bugs, the aches and pains. Oh, and let's not forget the "Alpine Start"....
Never mind getting gripped out of your mind, shitting into a hole, flying rocks, and the potential to devastate the lives of loved ones. No wonder people look at us funny when we say,
"If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand."
WHAT HE SAID
Posted:
Thu Aug 26, 2010 3:15 amby Castlereagh
so when I die I know that I lived
Posted:
Sat Aug 28, 2010 4:04 pmby Morlow
Lots of great replies here. I do it for the exercise, the views and scenery of the outdoors, and the challenge, but mostly because I enjoy it.
Posted:
Sat Aug 28, 2010 6:26 pmby Princess Buttercup
FortMental wrote:"If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand."
+1^infinity
Posted:
Sat Aug 28, 2010 8:03 pmby CindyAbbott
Castlereagh wrote:so when I die I know that I lived
Addition to my first answer.
Posted:
Sat Aug 28, 2010 9:47 pmby Joe White
probably for similar reason(s) that kids climb trees
Posted:
Mon Aug 30, 2010 4:41 pmby Ejnar Fjerdingstad
Because there is no more rewarding way to spend your time!
Posted:
Mon Aug 30, 2010 5:19 pmby Jukka Ahonen
Joe White wrote:probably for similar reason(s) that kids climb trees
I think not. Kids climb trees because that's where the monster base is hidden, or where the tree-octopussy lives. Or because everything on the ground is lava, and you cant touch it. You know, cool reasons!
Posted:
Mon Aug 30, 2010 6:40 pmby Tangeman
"The mountaineer returns to the hills because he remembers always that he has forgotten so much."
Posted:
Tue Aug 31, 2010 3:58 pmby Gator
The simple answer for me is that it makes me feel more alive than any other thing I do.
Posted:
Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:43 amby Dow Williams
I climb for the chicks (or bunnies!)
Posted:
Wed Sep 01, 2010 4:13 amby dclimb14me
Physical challenge. Mental challenge. Planning (love it when a plan comes together...). Camaraderie and teamwork. Weather is cool. Jokes are funnier after you bonk...
Sense of accomplishment ("It's not the mountains we conquer but ourselves." Sir Edmund Hillary). Goal is tangible and easily measured, unlike most things in our everyday life. Ramen tastes great when you're there. Food and beer taste better and colder when you're done. Life's simple pleasures are amplified.
Awe and inspiration and the requisite sense of wonder - "Eastward the dawn rose, ridge behind ridge into the morning, and vanished out of eyesight into guess; it was no more than a glimmer blending with the hem of the sky, but it spoke to them, out of the memory and old tales, of the high and distant mountains." JRR Tolkien
Cheesy, huh?
Posted:
Wed Sep 15, 2010 6:27 amby PellucidWombat
I think Shatner says it best -
Video Interview
Posted:
Wed Sep 15, 2010 6:34 pmby aglane
"not for the achievement, but for the joy"--Noel Odell (paraphrased from memory of his AAC journal obit, ca. 1989)
Amended: Just found Houston's obit. in the 1989 AAJ on-line, and embarassedly note that my memory recalled it there, where it is not.
The point remains the same. And I'd wager Odell would subscribe to the judgment, even if he hadn't uttered it.
Posted:
Tue Sep 21, 2010 1:20 pmby PAROFES
I'm always searching for freedom in the mountains, that's it.
Freedom from people
Freedom from our crazy society
Freedom from the money lovers (and i hate money)
Freedom from the cities....