Climbing

Our first two classes on climbing will be about the value of climbing.  To think about these issues, we need to differentiate different kinds of climbing. We'll discuss which of the climbers are "summiteers" and which are "mountaineers"--see the article by Pam Sailors for this distinction.

(1) Unassisted mountain climbing (e.g. Meru in the Himalayas)

• no established route--this may be a first ascent
• no guides--each climber has to have advanced technical skills
• climbers carry their own gear and equipment
• often high-altitude climbers don't use oxygen
• Meru (the movie) is available online--it's free if you have Amazon Prime. Movie was made by the same people who made the movie Free Solo (Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi).

• watch end of Meru (1:19-1:25)
• women in climbing--our author for Monday is a woman who attempted K2 several times

(2) Assisted mountain climbing (e.g. Everest)

• there is an established route, ropes, anchors, perhaps ladders, etc.
• guides assist the climbers
• porters and Sherpas carry almost all gear and equipment (issues about Sherpas here)
• climbers use oxygen and possibly dexamethasone to cope with high altitude
• issues about  Everest explored by ethicist Peter Singer here

• More about Woody Hartman's climb is here.

(3) Free solo climbing

• climbing alone, without ropes or other equipment
• please watch Free Solo (complete) by Friday