Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Jean was a feisty, wonderful and very tough lady. She died in November 2012.
Many years after Jean's last request to me, I began to find the time and the energy
to pull it all together. At times, I asked myself if Alex's legend might be tainted if
some of the myths surrounding him were dispelled. But the realities that made
Alex the person he was, and ultimately led him to his death on Annapurna, are
best expressed through his climbs, his work, his relationships, his foresight and his
incredible drive.
He was not alone; he was one leading light in a remarkable generation, the gen-
eration that all but climbed itself into extinction. Today little is known about them.
Among our friends who died in the mountains were Peter Boardman, Joe Tasker,
Pete Thexton, Al Rouse, Roger Baxter-Jones, Georges Bettembourg, Tobin Soren-
son, John Syrett, Jean-Marc Boivin, Jerzy Kukuczka and many others. Is the fact
so many died just a run of bad luck? Or did ambition get the best of them? Was
dark energy driving us? Or were we simply intoxicated by our adventures, always
needing more? Maybe all of these things flowed together through the same veins.
when a nice old lady asked Paul why we had so many bags piled on our trolleys.
'Because we are on our way to climb in the Himalaya.'
Her face lit up: 'Oh yes, I've read about you all. You keep on dying but there al-
ways seems to be more coming along to take your place.'
Paul Nunn's concise explanation of the need to take responsibility for 'every step
we take' is good as a description of a successful expedition, as is Roger Baxter-
Jones's mantra I've quoted several times already. But mantras do not protect us
either from ambition or bad luck. The principles of self-discipline built on physical
and mental commitment are crucial to mountaineering success. Responsibility to
yourself comes first and if it is truly followed, it naturally extends to include every-
one else on the expedition. But there are no guarantees. When you add high moun-
tains to the equations of life, then your emotions and the possibilities of fate have
many more opportunities to mess you around. There is no final journey back for
any of us.
When I was young, I came across the Romantic poet Friedrich von Hardenberg,
known more widely as Novalis. Like Alex, he died at twenty-eight. Like Alex,
Novalis studied law. He passed his exams with distinction, as did Alex. There is
little else in common between the long-dead poet, scientist and mystic and my
hard-living and hard-climbing friend, except perhaps this quote from Novalis: 'I
often feel, and ever more deeply
I realise, that fate and character are the same conception.'
