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'Alpinism' - The passion of serious mountaineers

Rupak Bhattacharya | Nov 6 , 2016

The year is drawing to a close, and so is the traditional climbing season in the Himalayas. Time to reflect on what has been a tragic year for climbers from this part of the country (WB, India). There were of course some "summits" in the world of commercial climbing and adventure tourism, but they are just another statistic without any contribution to the world of alpinism. There were some praiseworthy successes too on not so high peaks, climbed with the joy of alpinism. Like all popular shows there was also some comedy.

The so called dichotomy or binary between alpinism and guided commercial climbs should be laid to rest. They are NOT two sides of the same coin, they are two different coins, one real the other fake.

This is what Stephen Venables has to say, "Adventure tourism is often an oxymoron. Adventure is all about risk, uncertainty and self-determination, not buying a predictable packaged commodity."

This is what Reinhold Messner had to say,
"Traditional alpinism is slowly disappearing. Every year they prepare a piste (route) to the summit of Everest. It's business and tourism, it has nothing to do with alpinism. Alpinism means you go by yourself with your own responsibility knowing that you may die. But Everest now is more like ski tourism: preparing the piste, helping people go up, setting oxygen bottles near the summit. Five hundred Sherpas ready the ropes, the bridges over crevasses and the ladders at steep points. When you reach camp they (Sherpas) take your rucksack off, tell you to sit down, take off your boots and put you into a sleeping bag. Then, in the morning, the guides come and tell you it's time to get up and give you a nice soup. You wear these shoes, put on those crampons, LIKE IN KINDERGARTEN, they go on Everest now."

"You can be sure that in a few years all of the 8000 metre peaks will be prepared like this".

"GO WHERE OTHERS ARE NOT GOING, AND USE LESS EQUIPMENT. TRADITIONAL ALPINISM IS TO GO WHERE OTHERS ARE NOT GOING AND TO BE SELF RELIANT."

May the visitors of this post discover 'alpinism'!