The Laws of Adventure And Exploration In The 21st Century–An Editorial
January 16, 2009
By Jason A. Hendricks
On December 14, 1911, Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole. His original feat would lay the groundwork for 100 years of adventuring and exploration on the Antarctic continent. The world knew of Amundsen’s feat. It was celebrated around the world as a feat of impossible measures.
Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay achieved the same when they decided to take that final step to the top of Mt. Everest in 1953. They graced the cover of Time magazine and National Geographic. They became worldwide icons for what seemed to be another impossible feat.
Both of these situations are very similar in the way they came about. They are also very similar in how they relate to adventure and exploration in the 21st century. Each event was led by someone who did not believe in the impossible. The first, whether it was reaching one of the Poles or climbing the highest peak in the world, always brought a sense of awe from the public. Over time, these early expeditions became the stuff of legends. A big list of explorers and adventurers would follow in their footsteps, each with their own agenda, each with their own reasonings on making the expedition, and each with with their eyes on the impossible.
Some say that exploration and adventure in the 21st century is dead. All places have been explored, all major feats have been accomplished, and there is no new ground to cover when it comes to rewriting the history books. If you can’t be first, then why try? If you can’t be the best, is it worth the effort? Nobody remembers the guy that comes in second.
The world of adventure is quite different. Historians and staticians have kept track of every expedition to the South Pole. Those who top out on Mt. Everest can now join the 3,500 people that have done so since Hillary and Norgay. Guides routinely take up groups of 10-20 (or more) individuals to the top of Everest every Spring. It is an annual event that is now looked upon like the beginning of baseball season. If you top out, whether on your own or with a team, your name gets added to the list of those that have accomplished something that very few individuals will ever have the chance to do. Your name will be placed with the likes of Sir Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.
The emphasis on doing something that few people have ever done generally leads to capitalization. No fewer than 20 companies now lead expeditions on Mt. Everest each Spring. That number is closer to 50 when both sides are open. There are a select few that now lead expeditions to the North and South Poles. If there is a way to make money, someone will find it, work it, and bend it to their advantage.
The emphasis on guided expeditions has opened the doors to those with money, and those without the proper technique and experience, to be able to join the ranks of many of the people that first set the world on fire with their accomplishments. These same people want to know what it feels like to be an explorer, to sense the adventure that the past has brought, to feel like they are living on an edge that few dare follow. You now have competitions to be the fastest, the youngest, the oldest, and even the first to climb in shorts on Mt. Everest. This might sound ridiculous and it quite often is. The first means money and adulation. Who was the second person to climb Everest? Exactly. Very few people know that information.
Adventure guides and guided expeditions have changed the way that adventure is looked upon. They have taken the personal achievement and capitalized on ways to make things safer, to bring more people, and essentially, to make more money. It is not uncommon for one company to now run two or three expeditions to the same place at the same time. I don’t necessarily have a problem with this. What I do have the issue, and this may seem petty to some of you, is the fact that the guided expedition is now looked upon as the same type of adventure as those that go unguided.
Todd Carmichael recently became the first American to go solo and unsupported to the South Pole. His single, solo effort, would also break the world speed record of Hannah McKeand set in 2006. Todd Carmichael’s recent achievement barely broke the surface in media circles in the United States. A couple of hometown papers (Philadelphia), and a few adventure sites covered this amazing achievement. Outside of that, not much has been said.
In the Spring of 2008, Dave Hahn captured his 10th summit of Mt. Everest. This feat would set him apart as having the most Mt. Everest summits of any non-Sherpa climber. Dave’s feat is quite amazing in the fact that he has made it to the top of Mt. Everest 10 times. Dave Hahn received numerous accolades in the media for this feat. Dave Hahn is a guide. Dave Hahn was also climbing with a team of customers for his guiding services. He took them to the top, as well.
If you are finding that the connection is hard to come-by, or the meaning of this article is juxtaposed between facts of feats, let me try to put this another way. Dave Hahn done something that more than 3,500 people have done prior. He was paid to do his job, get people to the top of Everest, then received the recognition for doing that said job. It wasn’t about the team, or that Dave Hahn has a clear advantage to the accomplishment. Dave Hahn’s 10th summit came because Dave Hahn was doing his job for the past 10 years. It wasn’t about adventure or exploration, it was about making money. Jamie McGuinness, who leads expeditions on Everest for Project Himalaya, could have just as easily achieved this same feat, given the time. Time doesn’t make an adventurer. Doing a job is a whole lot different than going out on your own and testing your limits. From a mountaineering standpoint, Everest isn’t even the toughest climb, many would suggest it was one of the easiest of the 14 8,000 meter peaks.
Todd Carmichael went to Antarctica alone. He had no ‘base’, he had nobody there if something failed. It was him against the elements. The first American. Solo and Unsupported. World Speed Record. Todd Carmichael is not a guide. He went for the challenge. It was a test to accomplish something that he failed at doing the previous year with a partner. Todd Carmichael’s feat is incredibly amazing when put into perspective and a historical context.
Should guides or guided expeditions be included in the same class of achievement as the Todd Carmichael’s? Why do the guides and guiding companies receive so much press for doing something that many others could have done, if they chose to do so? The mountaineering record books are cluttered with first’s, the fastest, the oldest, the youngest…many of which were fully guided expeditions that offer a sense of safety if something happens. Bear Gryll’s was, at one time, the youngest Brit to top out on Everest. He sold a book, got a hit TV show, and can look back and place his fame on that one singular event. Bear Gryll’s was with a guided expedition. Don’t think for a second that he didn’t have his help.
In the best interest of restoring some credibility to the adventure and exploration history books, something needs to be done that will distinguish the records of guides and guiding expeditions, while also allowing the free-willed, do-it-yourself adventurer, the opportunity to take the step above. The feats are quite incredible. Add in all the factors of what adventure and exploration should represent, and I am pretty damn sure that many of you will agree that the guided expeditions, and guides imparticular, should not be looked upon the same.
Guides and Guiding companies are marketing geniuses. Who else could get someone to cough up $50,000 for a CHANCE at summiting Mt. Everest. There isn’t a guarantee that you will ever top out. As a matter of fact, guides have the right to refuse you the opportunity to go higher. Geniuses. In order to run a successful guiding company, you must be fluent in marketing your services. One way of doing this is through the media. Each Spring, dozens of articles come out about expeditions on Mt. Everest. What do they all have in common? The guides do the talking. They know how to use and manipulate the media in making themselves look good and getting the press that will drive sales. Are sales what adventure has become? Obviously the press eats it up. Where’s the press with Todd Carmichael or Louis-Philippe Lonke? Lonke recently made a solo trek across Australia’s Simpson Desert. This is the longest solo and unsupported desert trek ever recorded. One man, one mission, no press.
Dave Hahn will be remembered for his numerous summits on Everest. If it’s in the papers, it is in the history. Nobody will question whether Dave was a guide, whether he was on an expedition, or if this was a solo opportunity. There is no distinction made between Dave Hahn’s feat, or that of Sir Edmund Hillary. One had the first, the other has the most. Each case will be looked upon with awe and astonishment. The 21st century is a different time. Everest is a different place. Ropes now line the paths to success and if you fail, there are others that can help you. Hillary’s feat is another category all together.
It is a sad age when people are profiting from the attempt to place themselves in the same category as Hillary and Norgay, Amundsen, Carmichael, and Loncke. If you want adventure and something new, look to the ones that are out there breaking new ground, pushing the boundaries, doing it on their own time and money, and couldn’t give a damn about the money involved. Adventure is not about money. It is about the push. You seek adventure for personal reasonings. you venture for the unknown, you do because they say it can not be done. You climb it because it’s there. You reach for it because it hasn’t been reached. This is where you will find your true adventurers, your true feats, and your true heroes. The 21st century adventurer, yeah, they’re still here. You just have to look a little harder to find them.
Adventure records are amazing and fun to read through and think about. They are also tarnished with people that shouldn’t be there, or that have not proven their feats. Mountaineering is full of it. The South Pole and North Pole may join the same group if something is not done to distinguish the true adventurer from the guided expedition. It saddens me to think that people will look up to those who are selfish enough to claim greatness for simply doing their jobs, tarnishing the records of those that truly cherish the adventure for what it is. A line needs to be drawn to distiguish these differences before they can no longer be distiguished.
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. Am I the only one that thinks this way? Should a distinction be made between guided/unguided expeditions, and what are your feelings on adventure records? Your thoughts might be used in a future article on The Adventurist.
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Written by Jason A. Hendricks · Filed Under Editorial, Uncategorized |
Hi Jason,
I agree. No one likes when anyone takes a stand on this topic. It is viewed as sour grapes or jealousy. It is a constant struggle for me to see “adventurers” or “explorers” on the media or speaking circuit speaking about their first or longest or what have you, knowing full well they were part of a GUIDED expedition! I cannot get my head around it. It is so very frustrating to see much more deserving people, like Todd, go unnoticed. I am doubtful much will change with the general public and media not caring one way or the other. They just want the story. My only consolation is that these people who promote themselves in such a way, know to themselves, they are not being truthful.
People may not agree with my stand, but people will respect that I have stood up and made these thoughts public. I wanted to open this up to discussion and strike a nerve at the same time. I think I have accomplished both. Anyone else?