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OUR RECENT POST THAT PARAPHRASED GIL SCOTT HERON’S THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED BROUGHT NOVEL FEEDBACK, SO WE THOUGHT WE’D THROW OUT THERE ANOTHER TREATMENT THAT WE DID A WHILE AGO OF LCD SOUND SYSTEMS LOSING MY EDGE. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN IT SEEMED EVERYBODY HAS A VERSION OF THIS, THE MONOLOGUE LENDING ITSELF WELL TO CLIMBING, AND WITH EVERY TURN OF THE CLIMBING CLOCK IT SEEMS TO WORK BETTER.
LIKE THE EXPEDITION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED, THIS IS ABOUT THE THINGS THAT DRIVE HIGH ALTITUDE ALPINISM FORWARD – THE PEOPLE AND THE EVENTS, THE IDEAS AND THE BULLSHIT, THE ANOMALIES AND THE ODDITIES, THE GENERAL FRACTAL TIMELINES THAT CONVERGE TO A LEADING EDGE THAT MOVES FORWARD AS LONG AS THE MOMENTUM IS KEPT…AND STALLS WHEN IT’S NOT. THIS EDGE IS NOT GAINED BY FOLLOWING THE PLANS, DRINKING THE RIGHT KOOL AID, WEARING THE RIGHT COLOURS AND GOING TO THE USUAL PLACES, BUT HAS TO BE FORGED AND FORTIFIED WITH THE UNIQUE POSSIBILITIES OF THE TIME TO HONE THE MINDSET THAT CAN DO ANYTHING NEW.
WE THINK THERE IS A MOMENTUM TO BE GAINED, A WAVE TO BE SURFED, AN EXPIRY DATE TO STAY AHEAD OF AND WINDOWS THAT WON’T COME AGAIN. MOUNTAINS AND PLACES ARE VOLATILE, EACH SEASON BRINGS BIG CHANGES, SOME OPPORTUNITIES WON’T COME AGAIN AND SOME ARE ALREADY LOST. WHATEVER THE EDGE IS YOU WON’T FIND IT BY LOOKING IN THE SAME PLACES – NEVERTHELESS ALL THOSE WHO DO FIND IT LOOKED THERE.
THIS IS ABOUT THE EDGE OF EXPEDITION CLIMBING NOT BEING TAKEN FOR GRANTED, NOT EXPECTING IT TO BE HANDED OVER, UNDERSTANDING THAT OPPORTUNITY FAVORS THE PREPARED. THINK LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE AND YOU CAN EXPECT RESULTS LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, AND YOU WILL ONLY KNOW THE EDGE FROM THE REPORTS AND RUMORS OF OTHERS. IT WON’T BE YOUR EDGE.
LIKE THE SONG IT SATIRIZES, THIS IS ABOUT AVOIDING MEDIOCRITY AND STAGNATION IN THE FACE OF EMERGING NEW IDEAS. THIS HAS TO BE WORKED AT. THIS IS ABOUT STRINGING TOGETHER ALL THE INNOVATIONS AND RADICALISMS OF BEFORE AND LOOKING AT THEM IN FRESH WAYS AND REAPRAISING THE BLINDSPOTS, ACCEPTED IGNORANCES, CLICHES AND STEREOTYPES, AND AS IT KEEPS SAYING – IT’S ABOUT BEING THERE. YOU EITHER ARE OR YOU AREN’T.
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GAINING MY EDGE
YEAH I’M GAINING MY EDGE
I’M GAINING MY EDGE FROM THE KIDS FROM FRANCE AND FROM CHINA
BUT I WAS THERE
I WAS THERE IN 1906 FOR THE FIRST CROWLEY EXPEDITION TO K2
I’M GAINING MY EDGE FROM THE KIDS WHOSE V-THREADS WE FIND WHEN THEY GET OFF THE BIG STUFF.
I’M GAINING MY EDGE FROM THE ONLINE TRANSLATORS WHO CAN TELL ME EVERY ASCENT BY EVERY FOREIGN TEAM NORTH OF THE KARAKORAM FROM 1997 TO 2017.
I’M GAINING MY EDGE WITH ALL THE KIDS ON KAIKOMAGATAKE AND IN THE TATRAS.
I’M GAINING MY EDGE WITH THE ARTS DEGREE CUMBRIANS IN GAITORS AND BORROWED NOSTALGIA FOR THE NIGHT-NAKED EIGHTIES.
WE SEE THEIR FOOTPRINTS FROM BEFORE DAWN EVERY MORNING IN THE SOUTHERN ALPS. BUT I WAS THERE.
WE WERE THERE IN 1983 WHEN TIM, LINCOLN, GREG, GEOFF AND ANDY PULLED OFF WHITE LIMBO PRETENDING NO ONE TOLD THEM THEY COULDN’T. WE TOLD RALF ABOUT THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 AS WE SAT IN BASECAMP IN PAKISTAN, WE TOLD HIM THERE’S NO ONE ELSE OVER THERE AND THE FOOD IS BETTER.
WE WERE THERE
WE WERE THE FIRST GUYS HITCHING INTO 6000mers IN THE WINTER. WE TRIED THE KUNLUN AND TIENSHAN.
EVERYBODY THOUGHT WE WERE CRAZY
WE ALL KNOW. WE WERE THERE.
WE NEVER GOT CAUGHT.
WE KNEW THE BORDER POSTS IN GOJAL AND COULD GET ANYBODY ANYWHERE FROM KARIMABAD TO DUSHANBE WITHOUT A VISA AS THE PLANES FLEW OVERHEAD AND THE POLISH WENT MAD SMUGGLING LAPIS OUT OF KONGUR
WE WERE THERE IN SICHUAN WHEN MARLBOROS AND BLACK LABEL WERE AS GOOD AS PERMITS, WHEN BRUCE AND KYLE WERE GETTING THE BUS FROM THE TRAFFIC HOTEL AND CHARLIE WAS LEARNING TIBETAN IN A FLAT IN KANGDING AND BRIGANDS STILL PLIED THE ROADS.
WE DRANK BAD COFFEE IN SHUANGQIAOGOU WITH GUY AND CRAIG.
SO I’M GAINING MY EDGE FROM BETTER LOOKING CLIMBERS WHO CLIMB FASTER AND NEED LESS GEAR
AND THEY’RE ACTUALLY REALLY, REALLY DOING IT.
I HEARD YOU HAVE A RACK OF EVERY CAM EVER MADE BY ANYBODY. EVERY VERSION OF THE ALIEN. ALL THE TOTEMS. ALL THE OFFSETS. I HEARD YOU HAVE A VERSION OF EVERY PIKA BEAK, EVEN THE SOFT STONE ONES. I HEARD THAT YOU HAVE TITANIUM PINS FROM RUSSIA AND JAPAN AND CARBON TOOLS HANDMADE IN POLAND. I HEARD THAT YOU HAVE SPECTRA PACKS FROM THE 90s AND CUSTOM CILOGEAR DYNEEMA DESIGNS FROM THE 2000s.
I HEAR YOU’RE SEWING DOUBLE BAGS AND DYNEEMA TARPS AND THROWING YOUR PORTALEDGE OUT THE WINDOW BECAUSE YOU WANT TO CLIMB SOMETHING FAST. YOU WANT TO CLIMB NONSTOP.
I HEAR THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAVE SOLD YOUR D4 AND ONLY CARRY HAMMOCKS. I HEAR THAT YOU ARE YOUR TEAM HAVE SOLD YOUR HAMMOCKS AND ONLY CARRY A D4.
I HEAR EVERY CLIMBER YOU KNOW HAS MORE PIOLET D’ORS THAN EVERY CLIMBER I KNOW
BUT HAVE YOU SEEN MY JOURNALS? YAN DONG DONG, CHARLIE FOWLER, KYLE DEMPSTER, ANATOLI BOUKREEV, SANDY ALLAN, DOUG SCOTT, ALISON HARGREAVES, ALEISTER CROWLEY, MARC-ANDRE LECLERC, TOMAZ HUMAR, JEAN-CHRISTOPHE LAFAILLE, ERIC SHIPTON, KEI TANIGUCHI, MARK TWIGHT, ANDRZEJ ZAWADA, ISAO SHINKAI, PAUL RAMSDEN, ALEX MCINTYRE, STEVIE HASTON, JEAN TROILLET, JIM BRIDWELL, TILMAN, GEORGE FINCH, MARCIN TOMASZEWSKI, GREG CHILD, DON WHILLANS, MO ANTHIONE, ERHARD LORETAN, MAREK RAGANOWICZ, DAMIEN GILDEA, CATHERINE DESTIVELLE.
YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU REALLY WANT, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU REALLY WANT….
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