Does it matter?
The following post was written on the forums of UK Climbing entitled,
“British Alpinism/Mountaineering is (almost) dead.”
The author, who of course does not use his full name or give a profile then goes on to say,
“We just don’t do anything cutting edge anymore.”
And finishes with,
All the Brits are doing is a few repeats of old routes and a few new 'filler' lines... with a whole lot of back slapping and trumpeting.
Which was the last route (abroad) the Brits did which was world class?
Thanks for this whoever you are… quite an interesting and emotive subject even when you take out your completely ignorant and hyped title.
“British Alpinism/Mountaineering is (almost) dead.”
If he really wanted to be taken serious why give the post a title that is a sweeping generalisation and that is obviously not true. British Alpinism and mountaineering is very much alive. I can say this without hesitation as I regularly meet Brits who are out there climbing in countries all over the world. The Alps in winter, not that long ago, was the realm of the real hardcore climber, but now, routes such as the Gabarrou/Albinoni, Charlet/Ghilini, The Super Couloir, The North Face of the Eiger, The Ginat and the Colton/Brooks on the North Face of the Droits, The Swiss Route on the Courts, The Dru Couloir, The Shroud, etc, are being repeated often. Call me a bit slow on the uptake, but this in my mind is both Alpinism and Mountaineering.
All the Brits are doing is a few repeats of old routes and a few new 'filler' lines... with a whole lot of back slapping and trumpeting.
Which was the last route (abroad) the Brits did which was world class?
I do not see my own efforts as cutting edge, never have, never will, but who cares and what does it matter? I go out and climb what I want for the joy of climbing, old fashioned I know, but seeing the sun set across a blue hew of a million mountain tops and then watching it rise again gives me more than most would imagine. I go out and climb as often as I can and in some of the most beautiful and challenging environments in the world, and when I start going out to make news, write daily blogs, break records or have my picture taken, its time to give up.
I have lived and climbed in the French Alps four out of the last five winters and I have not been falling over Alpinists from other countries climbing routes harder or in better style than many of my friends. Admittedly there are many really good French Alpinists who just get on with it, but for every really good French climber there are twenty who are not. I’m not one of these people who thinks Britain is brilliant and who gets all sycophantic about everything British, far from it, and the likes of House, Babinov, prezelj, Steck, Huber, etc are certainly at the top of the game, but there will always be people leading the way in everything. This does not decry others efforts, which still may be of high standard, it just raises the standards that will be attempted and in time reached.
On a world scale Kenton Cool and Parnell in Alaska have made some pretty significant ascents,(Denali Diamond 2nd ascent, Extra terrestrial Brothers, Mini Moonflower) as have Parnell and Cartwright,(The Knowledge) McAleese, Lampard and Turner,(The Perfect Storm) Chinnery and Sharp,(Snow Patrol) and there are many more. In the Himalayas Fowler is respected around the world and I would certainly place him along side the names mentioned above for his tenacity and the difficulty of his new routes – all climbed Alpine Style, all climbed with fellow Brits, Chris Watts, Saunders, Littlejon, Ramsden and Cave. I have been to Changabang and Kalanka, and on both occasions the North Face of Changabang was attempted, but not climbed, by climbers from countries other than Britain, so does this make their mountaineering dead? I suppose the North Face of Changabang could be classed as a filler-in though couldn’t it?
The Cartwright/Cross route on Ama Dablam was tried repeatedly by teams from countries other than Britain by using tactics that were in vogue nearly 50 years ago – fixed ropes, camps, big teams etc – but was eventually climbed by two Brits who packed their bags and went for it. A filler in line on an insignificant hill, oh, and still waiting a second ascent. Though maybe this climb wouldn’t fit into one of johnr2’s cutting edge climbs because it wasn’t supported by the government with a shed load of cash and it wasn’t climbed by a selected team, and it doesn’t use thousands of metres of fixed rope.
A new 2000-metre route by Parnell and Emmett on Kedar Dome which took 8 days is quite significant, especially as this face was attempted by Hungarians and a strong Polish team using fixed rope, but neither teams reached the summit. Hardly worth mentioning as we don’t want to be accused of back slapping do we?
This post by johnr2 was written in direct response to Matt Helliker’s short film clip of Kenton, Matt and my ascent of the Colton/MacIntyre route on the North Face of the Grande Jorasses. Not cutting edge I grant you, but it was never meant to be, it was what it was, take it or leave it. A small interesting fact about our ascent is two French climbers who started the route a few hours after us had one bivvy on the route, reached the mixed section in the upper quarter of the face and couldn’t climb it and were subsequently rescued by helicopter?
So to the crux of the argument folks, Brits are generally attempting things that are technically difficult and on hills no-one has heard and in good style, i.e. Alpine style or attempting to free climb with minimum aid. It’s what we are about, and the likes of Davidson, Heselden, Helliker, Parkin, Bass, Powell, Bracey, Houseman, The Bensons, Brodie etc, etc, some are up and coming and getting out there now, some have been failing and nailing for years without much fuss and without huge sprays and on a shoestring budget. The problem with this style and attitude is the failure rate is high, which then leads to cynical and ignorant people on the web making sweeping generalisations from there armchairs.
British mountaineering and Alpinism dead?
Maybe johnr2 you should get from behind your computer and try getting into the hills a tad more before posting bullshit?
Rant over…
Matt Helliker proving that some Alpinism still goes on!
