Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Roger, with Alex and Doug Scott, achieved all three goals while making the first as-
cent of the giant south-west face of Shisha Pangma in the purest style possible, but
the climb tested their friendship to breaking point. The hardest of the three dic-
tates is to come back friends. Other members of the team not capable of the climb
were discarded at an early stage of the expedition and there was considerable re-
sentment from those members left behind.
The final and least predictable requirement for success in the big mountains was
- and still is - good luck. Alex knew full well he could not control objective
dangers and so set out to manage his own luck by developing his concept of light-
weight style. Safety came through speed, and speed was gained by stripping out
much of the traditional safety net: camps, support, spare food and fuel, equipment
and so forth - what Alex described as 'the umbilical cord'. And the need to reduce
weight wasn't just about paring back on the amount of stuff. Lightweight style re-
quired lightweight gear and that meant new designs and new materials.
In the 1970s and 1980s Himalayan climbing was still an adventure pursued by
very few people, but in the lower ranges of North America and Europe, alpine
climbing was a fast growing sport, becoming socially acceptable and even fashion-
able. The growth in participation drove a growth in demand for equipment that
would not only reduce the risks but also make the experience more enjoyable.
There are very few people, even among the most hardened mountaineers, who ac-
tually find pleasure in carrying huge weights of gear in lumpy rucksacks.
Established companies and innovative new businesses set up and run by
climbers responded to these new markets with lighter and better-designed
products. The development of new equipment required investment in expensive
research and technology. Specialist manufacturers worldwide vied to produce the
best aluminum karabiners, hollow ice axes, lightweight crampons, high-altitude
tents, waterproof nylon clothing and plastic boots, and they provided products to
leading climbers to test. Anyone climbing in the 1960s and 1970s will remember
the moment they clipped their steel karabiners for the last time, replaced pegs and
knotted slings with lightweight nuts and tapes and condemned their uncomfort-
able canvas rucksacks - like carrying a potato sack - to the attic.
Alex had good contacts with many equipment manufacturers. In those days, they
were mainly climbers and, therefore, likely to be friends. Through strength of per-
sonality, Alex often convinced them to develop new equipment made from the
latest lightweight fabrics for clothing, rucksacks and tents that might be used on
one expedition only and so would never be of commercial value unless modified.
Necessity really was the mother of invention. Most climbers had little money and
lived on thin air. Obtaining free equipment in exchange for bright suggestions on
