EXPEDITIONS X. DEVISING BETTER ASCENTS
CLIMBING MOUNTAINS ISN’T ROCKET SCIENCE, BUT IT CAN LEARN A LOT FROM THE METHODS OF SCIENCE AND RESEARCH. IT TOO IS A PROCESS, SOME SYSTEMIC, THAT IS MOVED FORWARD BY QUESTIONING, ASKING, EXTRAPOLATING AND PROJECTING POSSIBILITIES FOR REAL-WORLD EXPERIMENTATION.
IN A BIG WAY, ALPINISM IS VERY EXPERIMENTAL, WITH EVERY NEW ROUTE OR FIRST ATTEMPT AND EXPERIMENT IN TAKING ALREADY KNOWN FACTORS A BIT FURTHER. ALPINISM IS INHERENTLY EQUATION-BASED WHETHER IT BE STOVE FUEL, ALTITUDE GAIN, INSULATION OR COUNTLESS OTHER THINGS, SO GETTING SMARTER IS TO MAKE THIS EXPERIMENT OPEN ENDED RATHER THAN CONVERGENT ON A LIMIT.
ONE OF OUR HEROES ROUND THE FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS ‘OFFICE’ (ie LONG APPROACHES AND TOO MUCH COFFEE INSIDE TENTS) IS RICHARD FEYNMAN, NOT BECAUSE WE MAKE ANY CLAIM TO UNDERSTAND HIS PHYSICS, BUT BECAUSE OF HIS METHODS OF INQUIRY, HIS APPETITE FOR EXPLORATION, AND HIS ‘PHYSICS X’ LECTURES AT CALTECH WHERE ALL IDEAS WERE WELCOME, THE BIGGER THE BETTER. WHILST WE DON’T GET FAR WITH THINGS LIKE THE LAMB SHIFT OR PERTURBATION THEORY WE DO DIP INTO HIS TIPS ON PROBLEM SOLVING IN A VERY SUPERFICIAL WAY, TO PROVIDE A PERSPECTIVE FROM OUTSIDE THE WORLD OF CLIMBING ONTO BIGGER IDEAS.
WHAT’S HERE IS NOT THAT, BUT IT IS INFORMED BY FEYNMANS PURSUIT OF ILLUCIDATION, FREE ENQUIRY, SCOPE OF INTEREST AND THE MODELLING OF IDEAS. AS HE BASED HIS IDEAS ON BEING ABLE TO CONVERT ABSTRACT CONCEPTS INTO SEIZABLE IMAGES AND THUS MOVED CLOSER TO REALIZATION, WE TOO PULL IDEAS INTO COHERENCE FOR WHAT CLIMBING EXPEDITIONS CAN DO.
.
READ
PLOW THROUGH THE DESCRIPTIONS OF HOW THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE DID STUFF. IT ONLY TAKES A FEW DOSES OF HOW MACINTYRE, MACARTNEY-SNAPE AND TILMAN DID THINGS TO BLOW THE LID OF ANY IDEAS ABOUT FOLLOWING A FORMAT, AND TO SEE THAT THESE GUYS WERE MORE LIKE PIRATES AND INVENTORS THAN BRAND AMBASSADORS OR ATHLETES.
READ ANYTHING, AND THOUGH QUALITY ALWAYS BEATS QUANTITY, EVEN THINGS LIKE CATALOGS AND SAFETY MATERIAL FOR GEAR ADDS TO YOUR BODY OF KNOWLEDGE. KNOWING THE MELT POINT OF NEOPRENE OR THE COST OF GAS IN ALBANIA IN 1998 MAY NOT CLICK AT THE TIME, BUT IS SURPRSINGLY USEFUL TO KNOW UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES NOT THAT FAR REMOVED.
.
* 翻訳
どの言語を使っていても、登山や探検の歴史の半分もその言語で書かれていません。つまり、基本的には雑誌やジャーナルが見るべきだと判断したものを見ていることになります。私たちは、ある場所の登山メディアが別の場所からニュースを絞り出す方法や、通過する内容が実際の登山コンテンツとほとんど関係がない可能性があることを直接知っています。
まずは、ポーランド語、日本語、ロシア語、イタリア語の記録を検索するなど、明らかなことから始め、次に、中国語、グルジア語、ペルシャ語、その他、大規模な登山の歴史を持つすべての言語を調べ始めます。たとえば、中国語には登山に関する膨大な情報があり、同様に、登山者から直接翻訳された登山の記録には、はるかに興味深い視点と文化的ベクトルが含まれています。
.
MAPS
YOUR FIRST STEP INTO THREE DIMENSIONS IS TO LOOK AT MAPS, AND EVEN THE MOST MUNDANE OF PLACES SHIFTS WHEN YOU SEE IT IN REFERENCE TO THE LAY OF THE LAND. GOOGLE EARTH DOES NOT SUPERCEDE TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS AT ALL, AS MAPS SHOW A HUMAN INTERPRETATION WHILST GOOGLE MAPS SHOWS A PICTURE AND TO IGNORE ONE IS A HUGE BLINDSPOT.
THE GREATEST EXPEDITIONS OF ALL WERE DONE WITH PAPER MAPS, BECAUSE THEY HELP BUILD MENTAL MODELS BY WHICH PLANNING IS DONE. LIKE THE ABACUS, MAPS DON’T REPLACE ANYTHING, THEY ENHANCE THE BRAIN AS A COMPUTER SO IT CAN THINK MORE EFFECTIVELY. IMPORTANTLY, TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS HELP FIX MULTIPLE POINTS IN THE MIND, RETAINED AS A DIAGRAM NOT AS A DESCRIPTION. LIKE FEYNMANS FAMOUS DIAGRAMS, MAPS CODE OUT DATA AS A SERIES OF SYMBOLIC REFERENCES, AS WELL AS PROVIDING A LANGUAGE BY WHICH TO COMMUNICATE THE FEATURES OF LANDSCAPE.
.
COLLECT IMAGES
CACHE ALL AND ANY IMAGES OF ANYTHING RELATED IN ANY WAY TO WHAT YOU ARE THINKING. THE MOUNTAINS, THE RIVERS, THE ACCESS, THE LOCALS, THE GEAR, THE FOOD, SIMILAR STUFF, STUFF YOU JUST LIKE, AND PICK THROUGH IT AS YOU PLAN TO REMIND YOURSELF OF THE BIGGER PICTURE. IN PART THIS IS A WAY TO SHOW THE SCOPE OF WHAT YOU’RE DOING, BUT MOSTLY IT’S A WAY TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION.
EVEN THE TINIEST RECOGNITION OF ELEMENTS THAT MAKE UP AN EXPEDITION, HELP TO CONNECT THE MANY DOTS THAT NEED TO BE TO ARRIVE AT THE BASE OF SOMETHING, AND SEEDING THE PROCESS WITH VISUAL REFERENCES MAKES A MENTAL SCAPE WHERE WITHOUT THIS THERE’S A BLANK. HOW ARE CAMELS PACKED, WHAT ARE THE TREES LIKE, WHAT DO THE LOCALS LOOK LIKE, WHAT’S THE SKYLINE TO THE SOUTH? ALL THESE THINGS BECOME REFERENCES IN AN OTHERWISE UNKNOWN PLACE.
.
MODEL & ILLUSTRATE
LEADING DIRECTLY FROM MAPS IS THE ACT OF MAKING YOUR OWN, USING WHATEVER GETS IDEAS DOWN INTO FORM. PHOTOSHOP, PEN & PAPER, COLLAGE, MUD MAPS, CAD SOFTWARE, STACKS OF COFFEE CUPS, ASHTRAYS, PHONES AND BOOKS ON THE TABLE IN THE OFFICE OF THE XINJIANG MOUNTAINEERING ASSOCIATION – WHATEVER IT TAKES TO EXTERNALIZE IDEAS FOR BOTH YOURSELF AND OTHERS.
EVEN THE ARMY MAKES TIME FOR ‘MUD MAPS’ MADE OF PINE CONES, STICKS, DIRT AND STONES ON THE FOREST FLOOR, AS A WAY TO POW WOW IDEAS FOR A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO WILL USE THEM. OUR DINNERS IN TIBET ARE CONSTANTLY TURNING INTO MODELS OF MOUNTAINS, MADE OF BOWLS, PITCHERS AND NAPKINS, SO WE CAN EXPLAIN AND THINK AROUND THE PEAKS WE GO TO THE NEXT DAY.
.
DESIGN
OFTEN THE SAME GEAR YEAR AFTER YEAR RESULTS IN THE SAME SORT OF ASCENTS, AND AT SOME POINT THIS BECOMES THE LIMITATION OF WHAT CLIMBERS CAN ACHEIVE. A SHADY SECRET OF EXPEDITION CLIMBING IS THAT MOST ELITE CLIMBERS ARE ALSO INVENTORS, AND THAT THE GEAR YOU SEE IN THE MAGAZINES IS OFTEN NOT REALLY WHAT THEY USE.
BEING ABLE TO DESIGN YOUR OWN GEAR TO SOLVE PROBLEMS IS THE FIRST STEP INTO CLIMBING IN NEW WAYS, AND THOUGH POLYMATHS LIKE DON WHILLAN, MARK TWIGHT AND YVON CHOUINARD WHO DEVISE ENTIRE SPECTRUMS OF GEAR ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN, MANY CLIMBERS HAVE RELEVANT SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE TO GET SOME IDEAS INTO USE.
BEYOND DESIGNING GEAR ARE THINGS LIKE DESIGNING LOGISTICS AND DESIGNING TIMELINES, THINGS THAT FANCY GEAR RELY ON IN ORDER TO EVER GET USED. IN SOME WAYS GEAR AND LOGISTICS ARE SIDES TO THE SAME COIN, WHERE ONE NEEDS THE OTHER IN ORDER FOR ASCENTS TO HAPPEN.
.
SKUNKHOUSE
WHAT SOUNDS LIKE A MEDIOCRE SKATERS BAND FROM THE EARLY EIGHTIES IS ACTUALLY AN INTEGRAL PROCESS, WHERE LIKE PHYSICS X IDEAS ARE ALLOWED TO MUSHROOM AND EXPLODE. LIKE THOSE DIAGRAMS OF EXPLODED MACHINERY, SKUNKHOUSING IS WHERE CONCEPTS ARE PULLED APART AND PLAYED WITH, WITH NO REGARD FOR BAD TASTE, STUPID QUESTIONS, COST LIMITATIONS OR ‘REALITY’.
SKUNKHOUSING WORKS BY SETTING IDEAS WITHIN BIGGER ONES, AND DIFFERS FROM DAY DREAMING AND FANTASY BY STAYING PRAGMATIC. THE IDEA IS NOT TO GRAB ANY OLD CONCEPT HOWEVER DUMB, BUT TO NOT LET LITTLE DUMB IDEAS GET IN THE WAY OF OTHERWISE BIG SMART ONES. SOME SKUNKHOUSE PROJECTS USE THE MECHANISM OF UP TO 20% OF AN IDEA CAN BE STUPID, SO LONG AS THE 80% THAT ISN’T CAN BE FUNCTIONAL AND RESOLVABLE. ANOTHER DEVICE IN THE SKUNKHOUSE IS THE CHATHAM HOUSE RULE, WHERE SOURCES NEED NOT BE DISCLOSED IF THE CONTENT IS RELEVANT.
IN THE FIELD IS A GOOD PLACE TO DO THIS, HENCE THE EFFICACY OF PREPARATION TRIPS NO MATTER HOW SMALL. BEING ABLE TO JUGGLE IDEAS AND CURSE THE MAKERS WHILST ACTUALLY USING THE THING IN QUESTION, BREAKS THE WALL OF SESSIONS BY EMAIL, OVER ZOOM OR IDLE TALK IN THE CAFE.
.
CROSS POLLINATE
CLIMBING HAS A CONE OF SILENCE OVER IT THAT CAN BE SURPRISINGLY OPAQUE, MAKING IT VERY SELF-REFERENCING, MYOPIC AND PAROCHIAL. ALMOST EVERY TRIP WE THINK WE MIGHT BE THE FIRST PEOPLE UP ONTO GLACIERS AND INTO ‘UNDOCUMENTED’ RANGES, ONLY TO MEET MINERS, SCIENTISTS AND GLIDERS WHO SEE THESE PLACES FROM WHOLE OTHER ANGLES. ONE REASON WE SUPPORT SNOW LEOPARD CONSERVATION RESEARCH IS THAT THESE ORGANIZATIONS SHARE THE SAME LANDSCAPE WE DO JUST WITH VERY DIFFERENT SCOPES, AND WHAT THEY KNOW ADDS HUGELY TO WHAT WE DON’T, IN SOME CASES SOLVING CLIMBING PROBLEMS WE IN ALL OUR FANCY GEAR COULDN’T.
DESPITE CONVINCING ITSELF THAT CLIMBING HAS THE MONOPOLY ON HARD STUFF IN DANGEROUS PLACES, OTHER PURSUITS CAN HAVE LONGER, OR HIGHER CONSEQUENCE, OR SIMPLY BETTER FUNDED HISTORIES WITH MUCH TO OFFER. OVER TIME WE HAVE CROSS POLLINATED WITH OCEAN SAILING, GLIDING, RESOURCE EXPLORATION, CINEMATOGRAPHY, PYROTECHNICS AND EVEN AEROSPACE TO RESOLVE ALL SORTS OF INTEGRAL THINGS, WITH SOLUTIONS BEYOND WHAT ANY CLIMBING PROVIDER HAS EVER BOUGHT TO THE TABLE.
.
GET AN ATTITUDE
FRONTING AS A TOURIST OR ATHLETE DOESN’T GET YOU FAR OUT IN THE WORLD OF REAL EXPEDITIONS, WHERE YOU NEED A GRAVITY OF CHARACTER TO MAKE THE WAY WHERE NONE IS PREVIOUSLY MADE. WE DIDN’T GET ACCESS TO THE NORTH SIDE OF THE KARAKORAM BY ASKING AS TOURISTS, AND MANY FELL BY THE WAYSIDE OVER THE DECADE IT’S TAKEN BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T HAVE THE CHARACTER TO FLOAT IT.
WHEN THERE ARE NO REPORTS, NO CURRENT INFORMATION, FOREIGN CULTURES, EXTREME CONDITIONS AND UNUSUAL CONSEQUENCES, THE AVERAGE APPETITE FOR AVERAGE INFORMATION AND AVERAGE WORKLOAD DON’T CUT IT. PEOIPLE LIKE THE AUTHORITIES IN XINJIANG OR SICHUAN SEE THROUGH ANY FACADE STRAIGHT AWAY, AND WON’T SPEND THEIR TIME ON THOSE WHO DON’T MATCH THEM IN THEIR DEMANDS FOR LOGISTICAL PROWESS.
ATTITUDE IS GAINED BY ACCRUING TIME AND EXPERIENCE, DOING THINGS THAT THE NORMALS AVOID OR CAN’T STOMACH. ‘WHO DARES WINS’ IS THE WAY TO BUILD ATTITUDE, BY HAVING THE WHEREWITHAL TO SHOW UP, LEARN AND TAKE CHANCES, SO THAT WHEN THINGS START TO GET LARGE YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO BRING TO IT. THIS IS NOT THE ATTITUDE THAT IS A FRONT FOR AN UNDEVELOPED OR INSECURE CHARACTER, BUT IS AN ATTITUDE THAT IS ACTIONED, NOT MERELY PROJECTED. USED AS A LENS OR A MECHANISM, A GOOD 3 DIMENSIONAL ATTITUDE SETS A CLIMBER OUTSIDE THE NORM, WHICH IS THE FIRST STEP TO CLIMBING STUFF NO ONE ELSE EVER SEES.
.
PLAY OUT THE EQUATIONS
LIKE IT OR NOT, ALPINISM HAS LOTS OF EQUATIONS, FROM THE RATE AT WHICG GAS BURNS, TO CALORIES, TO WHAT A PACK WILL CARRY TO HOW FAR A CAMEL CAN GO IN A DAY. WHILST REDUCING IT ALL TO ONLY EQUATIONS IS ANATHEMA TO THE SPORT, FINDING, WEIGHING UP, CORRELATING AND EXTRAPOLATING THEM IS WHERE CLIMBING ALSO FINDS ITS FREEDOM.
AN ERROR IN CLIMBING LITERATURE IS THE WAY PLANNING AND PREPARATION IS OFTEN DISMISSED, MAKING BORING ACCOUNTS TO THE NON-CLIMBING CONSUMER WHO HAS TO BUY THE BOOK OR WATCH THE FILM. WHAT GETS IGNORED IS THAT MOST GOOD CLIMBERS ARE GOOD AT CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS, KNOWING WHAT THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH – OR WHAT THEY CAN’T YET STILL SURVIVE.
IF FEYNMAN HAS ANY REAL INTERSECTION WITH ALL THIS, THIS IS WHERE, AS HIS CAPACITY TO RELATE COMPLEX EQUATIONS TO MAKE NEW ONES IS CENTRAL TO HIS BRILLIANCE. BY TAKING SEEMINGLY UNRELATED PROCESSES AND FINDING THE WAY THEY RELATE OR INTERSECT, IS THE WAY TO FIND THE FUNDAMENTAL REALITY OF THE UNIVERSE, LET ALONE CLIMB A MOUNTAIN.
THINGS LIKE GAS AT ALTITUDE, HOW INSULATION WORKS, ANGLE OF SLOPE AND MATERIALS GEAR IS MADE FROM, ALL CAN BE JUGGLED TO SHIFT ABOUT THE EQUATIONS OF WHAT YOU CAN DO. SOME THINGS HAVE PROPORTIONATELY MORE INFLUENCE ON EQUATIONS THAN OTHERS – UP UNTIL SOMETHING SHIFTS THEN THEY CAN BECOME HINDRANCES. RUNNING OUT EQUATIONS ON PAPER, IN DISCUSSION AND EVEN MODELLED BY COMPUTER IS A WAY NOT SO MUCH TO SEE WHAT WORKS, BUT TO SEE HOW WHEN THINGS WILL FAIL, WHAT DIRECTION THEY WILL FALL IN.
.
TURN NAYSAYERS INTO DEVILS ADVOCATES
THE INDICATION THAT A TRIP IS INNOVATIVE IS WHEN THOSE WHO ARE UNINFORMED POSTULATE IT CAN’T WORK. OF COURSE THEY MAY WELL BE RIGHT – TRIPS FAIL ALL THE TIME FOR ALL SORTS OF REASONS AND OFTEN MUNDANE ONES – THE POINT IS THAT BEING ASSURED IT’S ALL LOOKING GOOD IS A SIGN THAT YOU MAY NOT BE PUSHING ANYTHING NEW.
WHAT CLIMBERS SAY TELLS YOU MORE ABOUT THE CLIMBER THAN THE SUBJECT MATTER, AS THEY CAN BE NOTORIOUS FOR PROJECTING THEIR OWN ABILITIES ONTO OTHERS. SIMPLY NAYSAYING WITHOUT QUANTIFIABLE INFORMATION SAYS LITTLE ABOUT THE PLANS AT HAND BUT PROVIDES A FREE DEVILS ADVOCATE, TO FURTHER TROUBLESHOOT AND APPRAISE USING THE COLD LIGHT OF OPINION.
LIKE IT OR NOT, THIS MATTERS, IF ONLY TO GET YOU TO HEAR YOUR PLANS STATED IN DIFFERENT WORDS, WHICH DEMONSTRATES DIFFERENT WAYS OF THINKING AND WHAT OTHER PERSPECTIVES MIGHT CONTAIN. A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE IS TALKING TO LOCALS ABOUT PLANS, PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO INTEREST IN CLIMBING, WHOSE OPINIONS OFTEN UNCOVER UNFORSEEABLE FACTORS OR CONFIRM THINGS WE DISMISSED AS HERESAY.
.
ENGAGE
WITHOUT ENGAGEMENT YOU HAVE NOTHING, BECAUSE THAT’S ALL EXPEDITIONS ARE, AND THE TOURIST EXPERIENCES SOLD AS EXPEDITIONS FAIL AS THE REAL THING EXACTLY BECAUSE OF THIS. SHUFFLING THROUGH A WORLD THAT EXISTS ONLY FOR THE TOURIST PREDETERMINES ALMOST ALL THAT YOU CAN DO, AND WHAT YOU MAY THINK IS A NEW LINE IS SIMPLY WHERE AN ENTIRE INDUSTRY DECIDED TO PUT YOU.
REGULARLY WE ARE ASKED TO GET PERMITS FOR OTHERS, SOMETHING WE DON’T DO BECAUSE WHERE WE GO, ENGAGING THE AUTHORITIES THAT ISSUE THEM IS PARAMOUNT. IF YOU CAN’T MAKE THE TIME AND EFFORT TO ENGAGE THOSE WHO GRANT PERMISSION, EXPECT TO HAVE EVERYTHING AFTER THAT DECIDED FOR YOU WHILST THE CHARADE OF YOUR CONTROL PLAYS ALONG.
THE OPPOSITE IS THAT BY ENGAGING PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN DOORS OPEN, WHEN THE CONNECTION OVER EATING, COFFEE OR BEER TAKES EFFECT. BE IT THE GOVERNMENT, THE HOTEL STAFF, THE CHEF, THE DRIVER, THE LIAISON OR THE GUY AT THE PARKING LOT, ENGAGEMENT IS WHERE YOUR TRIP PEELS OFF FROM THE ORDINARY.
.
*GO HERE