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and everything that is now part of our daily lives. He had a great vision of what
would change and what would happen in the future.'
Alex didn't just work with Karrimor. He helped create clothing for Rohan and
tents and hammocks for Troll. It was always slightly unnerving leaving base camp
with a completely untested bit of kit or clothing, but it always seemed to work. He
was a climber and innovator extraordinaire.
What would he have made of the mountaineering scene today? I wonder if he
would feel that 'style' is no longer entirely a matter of personal choice; commer-
cialism often dictates what a sponsored climber's next photo shoot or expedition is
going to be. Has the pureness of line been replaced by the bottom line? To some
extent, the answer is yes. If you want to become a sponsored climber, you must
look good, and continuously perform at standards that require very high levels of
fitness and athleticism. Furthermore, it seems to me, you need an understanding
of the commercial world where performance is judged by records and numbers.
This is what both the outdoor industry and the public expect. How else can a com-
pany attract media attention to make films and to help brands compete? Some-
times both purity and reality are lost in the hype. There are some members of the
adventure fraternity, whom Doug Scott described as 'TV types,' who do very little
climbing and still somehow promote themselves as climbers and make a good liv-
ing from the deception.
What would Alex think about the emphasis on the recording of numbers, the me-
dia attention given to the collectors of the fourteen eight-thousanders or the seven
summits; to be the first to ski down a peak and the fastest to solo it. These seem to
be the very things Alex thought had taken Messner away from the true path of ad-
venture. But it is these 'achievements' that make climbing understandable to the
media and the general public as a sport; the grades, heights, hours taken, these are
recognisable sporting achievements - the biggest, hardest, boldest, first, second
and so on. Is this so different from the 1970s or even the 1870s? Perhaps not.
Alex would have loved many of the changes that have come and I suspect his own
attitudes would have changed with the times. Looking back, I remember that we
had regular arguments in the last year of his life about what changes were coming
and how quickly they would come. I did not believe that expeditions would take
helicopters into base camp. Even more, I couldn't imagine they would want to. Nor
did I believe that there would be a revolution in telecommunications and the me-
dia would capitalise on the opportunities. Once again, I could not see, or even ima-
gine why anyone would want a telephone at base camp, or instant video screening.
All that would be an intrusion on the adventure and allow worries from home to
