Throughout the year, we delve into the intertwined narratives of ascents and existential reflections. Through captivating imagery and poignant tales, we explore thoughts, ideas, and concepts from various fields of literature and philosophy, ranging from the humorous to the profound. These reflections always circle back to the deeper connection between the mountains and the humans who venture into them.
Blessed & Benighted
To be benighted, or “overtaken by darkness” as it is defined, can be viewed as a failure by climbers, but the fear of failure is just the magic you never created, the darkest of nights always end up behind you.
Some of the best stories, memories, and partnerships are formed on the sides of mountains when things didn't pan out. Often staying the night can be a safer option than navigating in the dark and stumbling back to the car in the witching hour! Travelling by night increases the risk of injuries, becoming lost and disorientated, and making poor decisions when exhausted, which can be hazardous to you and your group, so consider simply staying put. Tomorrow's sunrise will surely be beautiful, and embracing the night can be made easier with a few extra supplies.
Make sure you have communication to alert your emergency contact that the plan has changed, and then break out the extra warm layers, tarp, reserve snacks, headlamp, and ground mat. This is where the fun begins!
Those extra hours can lead to the best spooning of your life to stay warm, it leads to star-watching and the sort of conversations and connections that only happen when survival is the goal and egos are packed away.
This image is post an open bivy high in Chile when every layer has been donned including the most amazing woollen mitts and the most visible feature is the smiling eyes knowing another story has been written.
Climber: @joyogui
Photographer: @escalajipi
Area: Valle Cochamó in Los Lagos Region of Chile
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“Et lux in tenebris lucet” —and the light shineth in the darkness
Whether the darkness is from the absence of light, or from turning away from knowledge, it is clear that turning away from a problem doesn't fix it, and turning away from a human destroys the connection.
Only by looking where the light is shining can we see into the darkness. This famous haunting phrase above is captured by this image; the sun is setting over the ice, and soon the night will hide everything around.
From the first non-flammable headlamps with five pound batteries to modern-day LED headlamps with reactive technology; the weight, durability, brightness, and burn times may have evolved, but the fundamental purpose remains the same. From simply using it to read a book at night, to entering dark caving worlds, the headlamp allows humans to explore longer and further than before.
The headlamp shines as you brew up an evening tea at camping, it shines as you search for the next anchor on a nighttime rappel, it shines as you run through the forest at night, it shines as you search in your dark gear room, it shines as you ski tour up before dawn, it shines while you wriggle into your sleeping bag, its shines when you crawl under a car to put on chains. It’s there in a pocket, in a pack, in your vehicle, ready to bring light into your darkness.
Quote by Viktor E. Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist
Climber: @tabsrathbone
Photographer: @aratson
Location: Turret Arch in Arches National Park, UT
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The Hubris of Icarus
The progression of training finger strength can easily be seen as the holy grail of climbing. Watching videos of professional climbers ever increasing their weight or hanging off a 20mm one-arm for their latest IG post can lead viewers to chase these feats of strength. What you are not seeing are the years building a foundation of loading the fingers with weights below their max in a variety of grips, timing, and intervals. The literature is rife with warnings from experts warning of the dangers of overtraining or excessive loading and its overall effectiveness.
If you look at Olympic power lifters, they very rarely attempt their max weight, they often reserve this for competitions only. In climbing, we regularly see climbers training max (to failure) and sometimes pay a heavy price in fatigue or injury.
Greek mythology recounts after escaping from the labyrinth using the wings Daedalus constructed from beeswax and feathers, Icarus was warned by Daedalus to fly neither too low nor too high, for the sea's dampness could clog his wings, or the sun's heat could melt them. Icarus ignored this warning and fell to his death.
This hubris shown by Icarus and the overtrained, injured climber share a commonality in not heeding the expert's advice. Build a plan and follow it to get the best results this training season so you don't fall into the ocean with melted wings.
Climber: @kimmarschner
Image Courtesy of Black Diamond
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