Well said John, I think that's what unfortunate is that many modern people don't consider themselves adventurous because they don't relate to the "dude bra" "Here, hold my beer and watch this" way adventure is typically portrayed. What's rarely stated, is what you mention here, the opportunity to be alone in nature without distraction and to actually discover oneself, perhaps for the first time.
Kinda glad I didn't learn about adventure through reading about it or watching it, but rather by stumbling blindly up rocks with both clueless and experienced fellow adventurers :) I also find this paragraph interesting:
"The answer, of course, is that they were looking for more… not more suffering, but more meaning. Not more deprivation, but more purpose. Not more hardship, but more opportunities to be united by a great cause. Just like those of us living today, they were longing for those things that a society focused exclusively on money and material comfort struggles to provide."
And maybe I need to write a story about what I am about to say... But I don't feel I started climbing to be united by a great cause or to find purpose. I was just a super hyper young person who had ice skated her entire life and then was left without an outlet for my energy when I quit at 19. So I did tons of drugs, and then I moved out West to snowboard. But snowboarding didn't quite give me what I needed. It was fun, but not an all-consuming challenge that I could obsess about. When I discovered climbing, it felt like the perfect match, though I didn't even recognize that at the time... I just wanted to go constantly. I couldn't think of anything else. And as I discovered new opportunities--El Capitan & Yosemite, big walls in other countries after seeing a slide show by Steph Davis, the Diamond on Long's Peak--I just did whatever I needed to do to go do those things I wanted to do. Train harder. Earn more money. Whatever.
The only thing that ever stood in my way was people telling me I could not do something. I think, even, that is when I started becoming an activist and actually conceptualizing anything at all. I just got so tired of people, all white men, assuming or even telling me straight up that I could not do such and such a climb (because I might get hurt or it was too hard or whatever) or I shouldn't expect to go to the Bugbaboos and just do a first ascent (I did), or asking me, had I just done the easiest route on whatever rock wall I was climbing in Rocky Mtn. NP when they walked by me (generally I was doing 5.11), etc, etc... Maybe unconsciously I was living what you write about above... but I just never thought about anything except climbing and how could I climb more...
As Lizzy states we all need adventure, but each in our own way, and at our own level, and sometimes, at least to start, we don’t even understand why. I’ve spent my life writing about adventure so I’ve thought deeply about the motivations, but I’m not sure that’s all that important. What’s important is to follow one’s heart wherever it leads, and not reign it in.
This is one of the most entertaining, thought provoking and enjoyable pieces on adventure I've ever read - and yes, I'm one of those who love reading ABOUT adventure. But what I loved about this article is that adventure is anything that puts you outside your comfort zone and although my "adventures" are on a pretty small scale, I now have a newer appreciation for them. Thanks!
Adventure can be found in many situations. Sitting on the side of cliff in the middle of winter huddled with your partner for warmth. leading a climb when it starts to rain. Or as you point out in any situation that feel adventurous to the individual.
I went to a lecture by Reinhold Messner, The greatest mountaineer of his time an my inspiration to go find adventures in the mountains. In it it asserted that the4e need to be white places on the map. Places with no information available where one can explore the unknown.
This has always attracted me. Not just being in such a place alone, though that would certainly qualify, but pushing my edges in such a place. Where no one knows where I am and the possibility of rescue is essentially nil. Where the only companion I have is the spirit of nature. Where the spirit of nature speaks to me, where I can have a conversation. Exploring paths, some technical, to see if I can get from one place to another. Going down a desert canyon where no on has gone before with the possibility exists of finding a place where there is no way forward and retreat is impossible.
There are many other types of adventure that I have explored but this is the most poignant.
Well said John, I think that's what unfortunate is that many modern people don't consider themselves adventurous because they don't relate to the "dude bra" "Here, hold my beer and watch this" way adventure is typically portrayed. What's rarely stated, is what you mention here, the opportunity to be alone in nature without distraction and to actually discover oneself, perhaps for the first time.
Thanks Kai! Yes, adventure is different for each of us. I think the most important thing is that we don't allow others to define it for us.
Kinda glad I didn't learn about adventure through reading about it or watching it, but rather by stumbling blindly up rocks with both clueless and experienced fellow adventurers :) I also find this paragraph interesting:
"The answer, of course, is that they were looking for more… not more suffering, but more meaning. Not more deprivation, but more purpose. Not more hardship, but more opportunities to be united by a great cause. Just like those of us living today, they were longing for those things that a society focused exclusively on money and material comfort struggles to provide."
And maybe I need to write a story about what I am about to say... But I don't feel I started climbing to be united by a great cause or to find purpose. I was just a super hyper young person who had ice skated her entire life and then was left without an outlet for my energy when I quit at 19. So I did tons of drugs, and then I moved out West to snowboard. But snowboarding didn't quite give me what I needed. It was fun, but not an all-consuming challenge that I could obsess about. When I discovered climbing, it felt like the perfect match, though I didn't even recognize that at the time... I just wanted to go constantly. I couldn't think of anything else. And as I discovered new opportunities--El Capitan & Yosemite, big walls in other countries after seeing a slide show by Steph Davis, the Diamond on Long's Peak--I just did whatever I needed to do to go do those things I wanted to do. Train harder. Earn more money. Whatever.
The only thing that ever stood in my way was people telling me I could not do something. I think, even, that is when I started becoming an activist and actually conceptualizing anything at all. I just got so tired of people, all white men, assuming or even telling me straight up that I could not do such and such a climb (because I might get hurt or it was too hard or whatever) or I shouldn't expect to go to the Bugbaboos and just do a first ascent (I did), or asking me, had I just done the easiest route on whatever rock wall I was climbing in Rocky Mtn. NP when they walked by me (generally I was doing 5.11), etc, etc... Maybe unconsciously I was living what you write about above... but I just never thought about anything except climbing and how could I climb more...
As Lizzy states we all need adventure, but each in our own way, and at our own level, and sometimes, at least to start, we don’t even understand why. I’ve spent my life writing about adventure so I’ve thought deeply about the motivations, but I’m not sure that’s all that important. What’s important is to follow one’s heart wherever it leads, and not reign it in.
This is one of the most entertaining, thought provoking and enjoyable pieces on adventure I've ever read - and yes, I'm one of those who love reading ABOUT adventure. But what I loved about this article is that adventure is anything that puts you outside your comfort zone and although my "adventures" are on a pretty small scale, I now have a newer appreciation for them. Thanks!
Adventure can be found in many situations. Sitting on the side of cliff in the middle of winter huddled with your partner for warmth. leading a climb when it starts to rain. Or as you point out in any situation that feel adventurous to the individual.
I went to a lecture by Reinhold Messner, The greatest mountaineer of his time an my inspiration to go find adventures in the mountains. In it it asserted that the4e need to be white places on the map. Places with no information available where one can explore the unknown.
This has always attracted me. Not just being in such a place alone, though that would certainly qualify, but pushing my edges in such a place. Where no one knows where I am and the possibility of rescue is essentially nil. Where the only companion I have is the spirit of nature. Where the spirit of nature speaks to me, where I can have a conversation. Exploring paths, some technical, to see if I can get from one place to another. Going down a desert canyon where no on has gone before with the possibility exists of finding a place where there is no way forward and retreat is impossible.
There are many other types of adventure that I have explored but this is the most poignant.