Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
climbers had the only possible variation allowed in this classical apprenticeship. In
the Scottish version, Step 5 was seen as a requirement before you attempted Step 4
in the Scottish hills. Anyone who has spent a few weeks climbing in full winter
conditions in Scotland will have some sympathy for this view.)
After his ascent of Shisha Pangma, Alex was asked in an interview if the time was
coming when climbers might go straight from Scottish training to the big problem
faces of the Himalaya. He responded: 'I am not sure about that. I wrote an article
for a Japanese magazine recently where I pointed out the advantages that British
climbers enjoy, having been able to learn their trade through five or six alpine sea-
sons. There are an awful lot of tricks of the trade you can perfect only on alpine
terrain. Himalayan trips are still pretty cumbersome and I can't really see anyone
going there and operating safely without having a good alpine training somewhere.
We might get a lad who misses out the summer alpine season, does some good
routes in winter, then goes to Alaska, then goes straight to the Himalayan twenty-
thousanders. If he is intelligent, talks to the right people, does his homework, not
so much to be influenced but to acquire tips for staying alive, then yes, I can see
that sort of person developing in the future.'
This balanced and thoughtful response is typical of Alex's lawyer's training. It is
clear, but also leaves the question hanging and for the unaware could easily be
misinterpreted. His answer is really 'no'. There is no replacement for the full
alpine apprenticeship, but you might accelerate it by having nasty winter and
6,000-metre peak experiences. Some very good British climbers with little experi-
ence at altitude tried to advance straight to the Himalaya, but returned humbled.
Most had nothing worse than some bad experiences with altitude sickness. Ueli
Steck's phenomenal solo ascents in the Alps and the Himalaya were the result of
thousands of hours of hard training and climbing. His ascent of the south face of
Annapurna was his third attempt, so he knew a lot about the terrain. Professional
mountaineers climb day in day out to achieve in a few years what used to take a
decade.
Until around 1980, Alex had no particular ambition to be famous or known out-
side of his own circle of friends. He showed little interest in writing reports and
articles for magazines. It was part of his vision for himself, to be one of the lads
and to be a purely amateur climber, uncontaminated by outside pressures. His at-
titude and ambition would change.
Upheaval in the world's post-war political makeup was still some way off,
however. It is difficult today to picture countries divided into the 'free world' and
the 'communist bloc' but it is relevant to Alex's story on several levels. The 1970s
generation more than half-expected that one side or the other would push the but-
