slip and slide

A small fall.

At 85, More Peaks to Conquer and Adventures to Seek

Short piece in the NYTimes today on Fred Beckey as he prepares for his next ascent.

The Challenge of Mountaineering ... for Utility Theory

I suspect that there will be fewer than five people who will appreciate this remarkable confluence of interests. Yeah, that probably includes me.


A choice quote:

To illustrate the importance of motives that are unconnected to consumption, I will focus on personal accounts of a specinc activity: mountaineering. Why mountaineering? Admittedly, I examine mountaineering in part because it so obviously is not about pleasure from consumption. Serious mountaineering which I define broadly to include polar exploration - tends to be one unrelenting misery from beginning to end. The reason why mountaineers are so often asked why they climb mountains, and the reason why their explicit answers are so often unilluminating (e.g., Mallory's 'because it is there') is precisely that their reasons don't fit neatly into materialistic notions of human motivation. Dentists, investment bankers, and real estate brokers are rarely asked why they are engaged in these activities (though I suspect that the extent to which they are motivated by material considerations is exaggerated).

Although mountaineering is ideal for illustrating these non-consumption-related motives, it could be argued that, as a pathological activity engaged in by a small number of unusual people, it has little relevance to economics. The descriptions of mountaineering included in this essay will do nothing to dispel such opinions. But, as I argue in the conclusion, the motives that drive mountaineers are also pervasive in the general population in diverse domains of behavior.

If mountaineers aren't very good at answering the 'why' question when it is posed directly, a close reading of the mountaineering literature reveals myriad clues about their motives. In this essay I draw on works by and about mountaineers to illustrate the importance for human behavior of motives that don't directly involve pleasure from consumption.

Grab the full text here. You can also find the last strange intersection of interests here.

I never want to ever miss
The sweet rewards of nuptial bliss
So I will do my level best
To never climb Mount Everest

-Anon In: GAC Binnie et al., Editors, England now, The Lancet/Hodder and Stoughton, London (1989), p. 73.

Julie Smith captured this stunning photo from 28,000' of the shadow cast by Mt. Everest at 5am on 23 May 2006. She reached the summit two hours later. It was her third attempt on Everest in as many years. Source

Gear advice

This is my stab at a decent set of gear for our forthcoming mountaineering adventures (likely to include Mt. Washington). I've spent 7 winters in NYC using the patented hoodie+jeans+circa 1987 JC Penney's Boy's Large Parka+Converse, so the choices reflect recommendations and advice from people who have actually mountaineered.

Any advice or comments you guys have to offer would be appreciated. Note that my main constraint is cost, which explains many of the specific selections (I will certainly not be matching colors on the mountain).

White I already own, purple I haven't purchased yet and red I should decide quickly about due to impending price changes.

Climbing like a swan

Got a solid 2.5 hours of climbing in at The Rock Club with Kenway and Guillaume. All but the front walls had totally new routes. Many of the other walls were a bit sparse and still had some bouldering problems from the ABS Youth Regionals that were held last weekend. Despite the ongoing overhaul, there were plenty of things to keep up occupied. We all finished on a stiff 5.10 (white), which only Guillaume was able to send after he decided to skip two holds. We knew something was up with that route cause there was a line for it all night, and everyone was popping off the crux.

Lots of talk of mountaineering and piss bottles; it's time to coordinate calendars. In the meanwhile, a nice video set to a great song:

Before you drop that cash for a new shell...

Here's some interesting data from Phil Gibson (Army Materials Science Team) comparing one measure of breathability across several well-known fabrics as a function of relative humidity (constant humidity gradient). The details can be found here and here.I couldn't resist the chance to plot another data set from McCullough et al. 2003, A comparison of standard methods for measuring water vapour permeability of fabrics (from their Table 1). They compared various methods of measuring breathability; the top four panels show measures of water vapor flux so bigger is better (the fourth, ASTM F2298, corresponds to Gibson's test at a higher humidity gradient and relative humidity); the last measures evaporative resistance so lower is better.These data are consistent with the word on the street that eVent is king of the hill in terms of breathability (not sure where the newer Gore fabrics fit in here). Unfortunately, the use of eVent fabric seems to be more popular across the pond, with Rab and Montane making all sorts of nice shells (you can however buy this stuff through ProLiteGear). Wild Things also makes a nice shell (in the US no less!).

More relevant reading: Mar Verber's essay on Outdoor Clothing; Andy Kirkpatrick's article on Breathable waterproofs.

Three hours of climbing in New Rochelle with Kenway. Given that it was the day before Thanksgiving, the place was pretty empty. Worked on lots of overhang climbs again. I managed to send "Monkey Business" (5.8) and Kenway finished (without taking) the orange 5.10 that gave him grief last time. I got stuck on several other 5.9s, and for a change of pace, I ended the day on a yellow 5.8 at the front that required a little bit of laybacking. Super fun and a nice change of technique. Kenway finished on a red 5.11 near the front that looked pretty technically challenging (I was cringing at the finger pocket).

Oh yeah, thanks for driving for as long as we climbed Kenway.

Steve House and Vince Anderson climbed the Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat (14,0000 ft) in 2005. The ascent took 6 days and was completed alpine style. Here are a couple of great videos where Steve describes the gear they used: