Adventure and Perspective

Items that do not fit the categories above.
Forum rules
  • This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
  • Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
  • Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
  • Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
For more details, please see the Terms of Use you agreed to when joining the forum.
User avatar
DArcyS
Posts: 943
Joined: 5/11/2007
14ers: 58 
13ers: 544
Trip Reports (3)
 

Re: Adventure and Perspective

Post by DArcyS »

tlongpine wrote:Jesus this topic was obnoxious.
It's not the topic, it' some people.
workmanflock
Posts: 114
Joined: 6/7/2010
14ers: 58 
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Adventure and Perspective

Post by workmanflock »

DArcyS wrote:
tlongpine wrote:Jesus this topic was obnoxious.
It's not the topic, it' some people.
Yup. Its all perspective. I just kayaked around an island in Florida, I said I enjoyed the accomplishment, my friend said it wasn't an accomplishment for him, I asked him if climbing the Third flatiron was for him on one of his visits. He said, "I get your point".

Accomplishment and adventure are all subjective to the individual. After pushing the envelope for years and having one too many near death experiences I find adventure in a quiet desert canyon hike these days.
User avatar
mjohnson1960
Posts: 34
Joined: 7/6/2009
14ers: 58 
13ers: 12
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Adventure and Perspective

Post by mjohnson1960 »

Three thoughts on this:

1. If I let others define adventure for me I'd never have any.

2. I guess my mountain experiences up to this point have just been...misadventures?

3. I'm going to have to edit a bunch of facebook posts.
User avatar
madbuck
Posts: 1006
Joined: 6/16/2009
Trip Reports (6)
 
Contact:

Re: Adventure and Perspective

Post by madbuck »

I used to think that adventure and risking one's life were intrinsically linked. I now realize that adventure might be more about embracing the unknown...The most important challenges and risks in my future will come in helping my kids (and perhaps other kids) grow into people who will engage the world with the same sense of boldness and confidence that my parents instilled in me.
Tommy Caldwell, "The Push"
User avatar
djkest
Posts: 1420
Joined: 9/7/2009
14ers: 58 
13ers: 19
Trip Reports (44)
 
Contact:

Re: Adventure and Perspective

Post by djkest »

I consider most of my 14er hikes to be adventures. I guess it depends on your perspective. Sure, some 14ers are easier than others. I don't necessarily care if other people don't approve of the words I use to describe my outdoor activities. I used to use the word "Epic" to describe my yearly trips. They were epic to us- we have desk jobs in an office with no windows.

Little Bear was kind of an adventure. It rained all night long- thunder and lightning and torrential rain. Woke up at 5AM, still raining. Left for the summit late around 8 or 9 AM, still drizzling. Above the initial gully there was dense fog, we couldn't' see more than about 80'. The fog was bad enough it took us 20 minutes to find the hourglass. The hourglass was like a streambed with all the water coming down! There was water everywhere above the hourglass, and the fog made navigation difficult. On the summit, the visibility was probably 30'.

In hindsight, we probably shouldn't have even attempted the summit that day. It started to clear up after we get out of the hourglass. By the time we got back to the gully, there was no fog. We broke down our soggy tent and started the slog down lake Como road. The thunderclouds were building and we hiked as fast as we could. We got stuck in one of the worst downpours I've ever experienced in my life. Despite having a rain jacket, I was completely soaked to the bone! It was also very cold.

Oddly, by the time we made it back to where my truck was parked, it was hot and dry. What an adventure.

I will probably never climb an 8k meter peak. Other things in my life I'll never do- a sub 3-hour marathon. I don't use the accomplishments of others to take away from what I am able to do. If you constantly lived your life like that, it would seem meaningless. Heck, my neighbor has a nicer car than me too. But I don't care.
Life is a mountain, not a beach.
Exploring and Wine, my personal blog
User avatar
Eli Boardman
Posts: 660
Joined: 6/23/2016
14ers: 58  1  15 
13ers: 18 1
Trip Reports (16)
 
Contact:

Re: Adventure and Perspective

Post by Eli Boardman »

Wildernessjane wrote:You might consider doing some of the more interesting peaks in the Elks, Sangres, and the San Juan's before you completely write off Colorado mountains as mundane. Heck, check out some of the 12ers and 13ers in the Gore range even (sorry, I didn't say that). You haven't even tasted what Colorado has to offer, my friend. It's no wonder you think these mountains are boring (yes, I peeked at your checklist). I did just want to give you a little something to think about on the topic of "adventure and perspective" though.
The Crestones, Capitol, and SJs are top of my to-do list for sure. I haven't written off Colorado mountains, and anyone that thinks so misunderstood the OP. I also have been backpacking in the Gores (not all things are contained in a checklist. ;) ) I do think that you expressed some of the best points made in this thread.
dstelk wrote:I guess there will be no more adventures for me, until I climb Annapurna naked, in the winter, with an 8lb bratwurst hanging out of my rectum.
Maybe it's just me but that sounds more just stupid than adventurous.
Brian C wrote:This about sum it up for you Eli?

http://semi-rad.com/2017/05/but-did-you ... -climb-it/
Yep, pretty much. Unless you're the top 1% climber, it seems worthwhile to stop worrying about pretending to be someone you aren't.
-------------
I climbed my first rock route in Yosemite two days ago and chilled with the first ascensionist of that route yesterday. He said in '71 when he put it up they figured it might be pretty hard and were a little cautious going up. Sounds like adventure. When I took the first lead, I knew it was 5.6-7 and 3-4 pitches, where the belays were, and that the off-width could be bypassed with knobs. Fun? Yes. Just as great a route as in '71? Yes. Adventurous? No. Are there still, today, other granite domes with routes waiting for adventurers? Sure. Go find them, my friends! (Hint--they're probably not on Mountain Project.)
User avatar
TallGrass
Posts: 2328
Joined: 6/29/2012
13ers: 26
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Adventure and Perspective

Post by TallGrass »

Eli, have you had an adventure, and if so, what was it?
User avatar
jrbren_vt
Posts: 667
Joined: 2/18/2006
14ers: 14 
13ers: 29
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: Adventure and Perspective

Post by jrbren_vt »

Reinhold Messner was a great mountaineer, but I do not see him as an authority on the English language (did he even speak english ?). A simple look in any English dictionary can show the definition of adventure. Risk of death is not a requirement. It is simply an experience with risk (can be anything that is at risk, money, even a period of your time), or an exciting experience. Generally trying something new is an adventure for most people, especially trying something significantly different, like a new restaurant or new peak that is harder then something that individual has tried before. The OP look to be just trying to get a rise out of people, or is frustrated he is not getting enough accolades for his adventures, so is trying to bring everyone else down.
*****************
Best Regards
*****************
User avatar
Wilberfoss44
Posts: 5
Joined: 7/8/2017
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Adventure and Perspective

Post by Wilberfoss44 »

We are so fortunate to have leisure and freedom to choose to spend our time "having an adventure". The stories I associate with adventure are more survival stories. I wonder if in our privileged lives, with endless leisure time, any of us can have a true adventure? We're safe, we have iPhones and hospitals and people who'll look for us if we go missing.
User avatar
Eli Boardman
Posts: 660
Joined: 6/23/2016
14ers: 58  1  15 
13ers: 18 1
Trip Reports (16)
 
Contact:

Re: Adventure and Perspective

Post by Eli Boardman »

TallGrass wrote:Eli, have you had an adventure, and if so, what was it?
I don't think so. The closest would be the Winds trip last summer, but I knew those mountains pretty well due to Google Earth going in.
jrbren_vt wrote:The OP look to be just...frustrated he is not getting enough accolades for his adventures, so is trying to bring everyone else down.
Nope, just trying to put my (and perhaps others) experiences in perspective.
Wilberfoss44 wrote: I wonder if in our privileged lives, with endless leisure time, any of us can have a true adventure? We're safe, we have iPhones and hospitals and people who'll look for us if we go missing.
Precisely. You, sir (or maybe madam), seem to understand my point better than anyone.
User avatar
jrbren_vt
Posts: 667
Joined: 2/18/2006
14ers: 14 
13ers: 29
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: Adventure and Perspective

Post by jrbren_vt »

Eli - with respect, you need to invest a dictionary or do a google search. Perhaps adventure is not the word you are looking for, you seem to miss its meaning and uses ? I doubt if anyone here confuses their own hikes & climbs with Mountaineers that that perform death defying stunts for recreation or to (in their minds) impress others. The term adventure applies to both. Speaking for myself, needlessly risking my own life and possibly the lives of others for recreation who would come after me is not a plus. If have have risked anyone's life on a climb I have done something pretty wrong. If you truly want to risk you own life for the benefit of others or the greater good, there are many professions where you can do just that. One of my favorite book titles is "Conquistadors of the Useless".
*****************
Best Regards
*****************
User avatar
XterraRob
Posts: 1120
Joined: 7/20/2015
14ers: 42  7 
13ers: 14
Trip Reports (4)
 

Re: Adventure and Perspective

Post by XterraRob »

#NotMyAdventure
#NotMyPerspective
#HeWillNotDivideUs
RIP - M56
Re-introduce Grizzly Bears into the Colorado Wilerness™
Post Reply