THE FOWLER BIVY SCALE

IT IS ABSURD TO TRY TO QUANTIFY BIG ALPINE ROUTES WITH GRADES AND VECTORS THAT COME FROM THE RECREATIONAL CLIMBING WORLD. HOPELESS ATTEMPT ARE MADE THAN INCLUDE LONG STRINGS OF NUMBERS AND SYMBOLS AND MEMES, WITH THE BEST WE FEEL BEING THE RUSSIAN SYSTEM THAT INCLUDES THINGS LIKE REMOTENESS AND TIME ON ROUTE, THOUGH WHICH SEEMS UNIVERSALLY IGNORED, PERHAPS TO THE SPORTS PERIL.

BUT QUANTIFICATION IS NEEDED, IN ORDER TO BOTH RECORD ASCENTS AS DATA AND TO RECORD THE ORDEAL AS AN EVENT IN ITS OWN RIGHT. VECTORS AND COMPARISONS ARE NEEDED SO THINGS CAN BE DESCRIBED IN RELATION TO OTHERS, TO KEEP TRACK OF THE CURRENT STATE OF WHAT’S BEING DONE.

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AMONG ALL THIS COMES THE FOWLER BIVY SCALE, A WAY OF RATING WHAT THE BIVYS WERE LIKE TO GIVE AN IMPRESSION OF THE OVERALL DEMANDS OF A ROUTE. IN TODAYS OBSESSION WITH SINGLE PUSH CLIMBING THE FOWLER SCALE HAS FALLEN A BIT OUT OF USE, WHICH SAYS MORE ABOUT CLIMBING TRENDS THAN IT DOES ABOUT ALPINE POTENTIAL.

NO ONE SEEMS CLEAR ON JUST WHICH FOWLER IT WAS THAT DEFINED IT – AND IT DOESN’T REALLY MATTER BECAUSE BOTH MICK AND CHARLIE WERE QUALIFIED. BOTH HAD THE RESUMES TO BE THE AUTHORITY, BOTH ENCOMPASS THE SPIRIT AND WRY CHARACTER TO ANNOUNCE SUCH A THING, AND BOTH HAVE THE AUDACITY BY WHICH TO TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.

THE THING IS, ACTUAL EXAMPLES OF THE FOWLER BIVY SCALE SEEM NOT TO EXIST, THE IDEA OF IT BEING MORE PROFOUND THAN ANY ACTUAL RECORD. THAT BIVYS NEED TO BE SCALED ALREADY HINTS AT WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW. THE ONLY SOLID DATA SEEMS TO BE THAT IT IS A SCALE OF 1 TO 5, WITH ONE BEING THE MOST ARDUOUS, AND 5 BEING WHERE AFTER WHICH IT SIMPLY BECOMES CAMPING BECAUSE YOU GET TO LAY DOWN.

THE BETTER DESCRIPTIONS INCLUDE METRICS LIKE BUTT-CHEEKS ON LEDGES AND HOW RELIANT YOU ARE ON ANCHORS, WITH LITTLE ACTUAL WEIGHT GIVEN TO DISCREET INCREMENTS, THINGS BEING MORE OF A SLIDING SCALE. BEING AN ALPINE SCALE IT IS ASSUMED TO INCLUDE FACTORS LIKE COLD, EXPOSURE, DURATION, AND CONSEQUENCE, WITH THE IDEA BEING TO DETAIL THE COMMITMENT AND FEEL OF A ROUTE RATHER THAN SPECIFIC DIFFICULTY.

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LEVEL 5

SITTING COMFORTABLY, CLIPPED IN BUT NOT WEIGHTING THE ANCHOR, ROOM FOR STOVES. USUALLY WHAT IS POSSIBLE TO CHOP OR STOMP INTO DECENT SNOW AND ICE. THIS LEVEL OF BIVY IS FUN, SUSTAINABLE OVER SEVERAL NIGHTS, AND ALLOWS ACTUAL REAL REST.

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LEVEL 4

SAT ON A LEDGE WITH BOTH BUTT-CHEEKS, BOTH FEET HANGING IN SPACE AND NO ROOM TO RECLINE, HOLDING OR HANGING THE STOVE BUT PLACES TO SET DOWN GEAR. THIS LEVEL IS OFTEN WHEN THE SNOW OR ICE IS TOO THIN AND YOU CAN’T DIG ANY FURTHER. THERE IS ROOM TO STAND, AND IT MAY BE AMONG A SERIES OF LEDGES OR ALPINE ICE COLLECTED IN A CORNER.

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LEVEL 3

SEMI-SUSPENDED BUT MOST WEIGHT ON A LEDGE, THOUGH NOT ALL BUTT-CHEEKS. THIS IS BASICALLY ‘SLEEPING’ AT A BELAY. THIS LEVEL IS OFTEN WHERE YOU SIMPLY RUN OUR OF DAYLIGHT AND STAY AT THE BELAY, KNOWING THAT AFTER SOME ‘REST’ YOU WILL KEEP MOVING. THIS NEED NOT BE TOO BAD AS THINGS ARE SIMPLY SHIT BUT NOT OUT OF CONTROL OR IN EXTREMIS. YOU MAY GET SNIPPETS OF SLEEP AND IT’S NOT TOO HARD TO EAT.

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LEVEL 2

A MIX OF STANDING AND HANGING, RELIANT ON THE ANCHOR, MAYBE LEANING AGAINST A WALL OR WEDGED INTO A CHIMNEY. THIS IS PRETTY MUCH A LONG HANGING BELAY, THE SORT OF THING YOU ALREADY DO FOR HOURS ON END ON A ROUTE, ONLY THROUGH THE NIGHT SO YOU WILL ALSO COOK AND REST TOO. DESPITE FULLY BEING ON THE ANCHOR IT IS OFTEN STILL POSSIBLE TO USE A SLEEPING BAG AND BIVY BAG OR TARP, BUT THINGS NEED TO BE CREATIVE AND MOST GEAR WILL BE VERY STRESSED BY IT. ANY SLEEP IN THIS LEVEL OF BIVY WILL PROBABLY BE AFTER A LONG NIGHT OF NONE, JUST AS THE DAWN BEGINS.

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LEVEL 1

HANGING IN YOUR HARNESS, RELIANT ON THE ANCHOR, SUSPENDED WITH A RATS NEST OF SLINGS, ALL GEAR HUNG, ONLY CHANCE TO GET WEIGHT OFF YOUR HARNESS IS WITH FOOTLOOPS/ETRIERS. NO ONE PLANS FOR THIS LEVEL OF BIVY AND IT’S EFFECTIVELY ONLY WHEN PLANS DON’T GO RIGHT OR CIRCUMSTANCES PREVAIL. THERE WON’T BE SLEEP, THE AIM IS ONLY TO MAKE IT UNTIL YOU CAN RESUME CLIMBING, AND THE EFFECTS OF PROLONGED SUSPENSION ARE UNPLEASANT. IT IS THE STUFF OF LEGEND, AND A USEFUL YARDSTICK BY WHICH TO MEASURE ALL FUTURE BIVYS.

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