Summit Fever.

[Mechanic-AL]

I used to have 2 stock standard plain label goats. Not Himalayan Mountain Goats or anything out of the ordinary as far as I was aware. Their sole function was to keep the grass down to an acceptable level on the 10 acre block I owned at the time and I would have to say they performed this role admirably and without complaint. The paddock they were tasked with mowing was pancake flat with the exception of a large pile of Coffee Rock that had been excavated when a dam had been sunk. Here's where it gets weird. Every afternoon and for a number of years A1 and A2 (that was their names, it said so on their ear tags) would be proudly striking a pose atop of the highest point of the rock pile when I came home from work. Like some mythical mountain goat high upon the summit of the Matterhorn their single minded resolve the reach the highest point of an otherwise flat landscape never wavered, with the exception of one afternoon when I had left the front door open and instead of summiting the rock pile they had chosen to scale the highest point in the kitchen and I found one amongst the up-ended spice rack and dirty dishes on the kitchen bench and the other one on the lofty summit of the fridge!!
In many years of bushwalking I have at times found myself in the company of others who must surely share some un-discovered genetical link with A! and A2. The mind boggles at how that might be possible but the unflinching resolve of some of these people to stand on the very tippity tip top of any peak within striking distance has an uncanny similarity to the OCD mindset of my goats. I have just finished reading Maurice Herzog's account of his expeditions first summit of Annapurna. Before that I was rivetted to the pages of 'Sheer Will'' the story of Aussie climber Michael Groom's quest to climb the 5 highest peaks on the planet. A quest that would lead to financial hardships, the break up of a relationship with the woman he would eventually marry and the loss of ten toes and a sizable chunk of both feet. And still he returned to the mountains. I've read accounts of peak-baggers on this forum who near the end of their physical endurance have discovered that the "true summit' of a peak approximately a metre or so higher than the point they are on is actually quite a long boulder hop off in the distance. Convinced that their mission wont really count as a summit (surely to no one but themselves ) they endure more hardship to scale that last metre or so..... I don't get it ? It's not hard to find accounts of climbers stepping over dead bodies to achieve the summit of their dreams. In the case of Maurice Herzog's expedition a trail of amputated digits was left behind as they were carried to relative safety through monsoonal storms on the backs of their sherpas. And still this tragic event was lauded as a success simply by the fact that 2 of them had reached the top. There are a number of human traits that try as I might I will never understand. The mind set of those who simply HAVE to stand on top of the highest point of anything is up near the summit of that list!!

[north-north-west]

"Because it's there." (George Mallory, who may, or may not, have beaten Hillary and Tenzing Norgay to the top of that mountain.)

If you have to have it explained, you won't understand. It's just an innate urge - trees, rooves, rockpiles, peaks, whatevers ... something inside says "I wonder what it's like up there. What can you see?" Same with caving or SCUBA diving - if you get it, you get it; if you don't there aren't words that can make you understand.

ps: I know this will sound callous to some but .... well, if they're already dead there's nothing I can do to help, so ...
It's different if you're pushing others past their limits to achieve your goals; that's unacceptable, but pushing yourself? Your life, your choice, just don't put others in danger.

[johnrs]

For goats, himalayan char and yaks, Mech Al
I think it is to protect from predators at night
John

[Tortoise]

For me, it's just mountains that I love getting to the top of. If there's a lookout tower that'll give me a better view, you'll definitely find me up there. Safely where I'm meant to be, not on the roof of the tower like my friend.

She loves climbing anything - I couldn't watch when she decided to climb up on top of a bridge that I was more than happy to just use for its regular purpose. As a toddler, she learned how to climb onto the roof of their house, and her mum learnt to pull down the blind.

It's an interesting thing to ponder. And I wonder if a survey of peak-baggers would show any personality trait that stands out. I have lists I like to chip away at. If nobody else ever knew what peaks I've climbed, I'd still want to make sure that I actually got to the true summit, for my own satisfaction. I don't want to be left wondering if I 'legitimately' claim it to myself as climbed. Yes, I'll push on for another km or two in case the other high point (above the same contour as another) is a squigeon higher. I used to think people like me were a bit mad. Then I got hooked myself.

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

I once had a friend in Lithgow, and at the back of his property were a couple of old mullock heaps from some long forgotten mine. These mullock heaps weren't very big and only a couple of feet high, but after dinner it was quite pleasant to grab a beer, stand on a mullock heap, and watch the light of the sky change with the setting sun. There should have been no real difference compared to standing on the ground, but for some strange reason being on a mullock heap felt so much more significant and worthwhile. Maybe, just maybe, there's a little bit of goat in all of us.

[peregrinator]

. . . Maybe, just maybe, there's a little bit of goat in all of us.

You've got to be kidding.

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

. . . Maybe, just maybe, there's a little bit of goat in all of us.

You've got to be kidding.

A little bit of goat, not a bit of little goat!

[north-north-west]

I freely admit to being part goat. Just don't ask me which part.

[phATty]

I feel like for myself the drive to go up mountains can definitely change from trip to trip. In an otherwise flat place such as the central plateau, it's out of pure variety, the higher you are, the more you see and that adds variety to the trip. In a more mountainous place, like the WAs or even Cradle, the driver becomes more goal and challenge oriented. The view of the mountain itself from ground level is sometimes almost better than the view from the top. If the mountain yields no reasonable view, its usually for the journey up it and if not, at the very least the challenge again/the peak points.

Very few people recognise that they're chronically peak point hungry, mainly because that aspect is stigmatised, but I feel like there is definitely that drive in every bushwalker especially with all the easily accessible peak lists around.

Indeed, I think a commonality between all the walks I do are landmarks, I usually put in a goal, or a couple goals or landmarks along the way. I guess one could say 'objectives'. Sometimes they are mountains sometimes waterfalls, or even just traverses of ranges or ground. I rarely go into a walk without that in mind, a random jaunt doesn't really do it for me.

[north-north-west]

Very few people recognise that they're chronically peak point hungry, mainly because that aspect is stigmatised, but I feel like there is definitely that drive in every bushwalker especially with all the easily accessible peak lists around.

The points are nice but that's really just a game; nonetheless, if you're going to do it, you have to do it properly, and the one absolute rule (for the HWC's Peakbaggers' Guide) is "you have to touch the very tippy top". Not to follow the rule is like cheating at Patience: you know the truth of the matter, whatever you write on the scoresheet. Hence the struggling along that however many hundred metres of rocky, scrubby ridgeline to make sure you have touched that tippy top. The worst summits are actually those where there is no real obvious highest point because it's just a flattish scrubby hump.

The walkers I don't understand are the "get up there and back as quickly and easily as possible, just to bag it" mob. I want to explore the whole lot; it's not enough to just hit the summit, I need to cover as much of the country around as is practical. I didn't traverse the whole of the King Willies just to bag KWIII, it was to see what the range is like (always foggy at the far southern end, in my experience).

[Tortoise]

Very few people recognise that they're chronically peak point hungry, mainly because that aspect is stigmatised, but I feel like there is definitely that drive in every bushwalker especially with all the easily accessible peak lists around.

While I would agree it's common, not every bushwalker has the same motivation. I have a friend (we call her Peak Baggers' Assistant), who is just in it for the journey. We usually cannot coax her to do the final few minutes to a random summit if she doesn't feel like it. While mountain-gazing is one of my favourite pastimes (sitting atop one mountain, gazing at others for as long as possible), she wants to move on pretty quickly.

I've been sitting a few points short of my last goal for months, and I confess I get a bit antsy to get there sometimes. No enough, however, to proceed with a walk I won't enjoy, pushing through wet scrub in the cold. Or one that requires an attempt to cross an icy flooded creek. Or traipsing through deep mud, when I can wait for more enjoyable conditions. I think reaching 600 will be enough for me. I will never go for all the points, and there's no more levels in between, but time will tell if I decide to set my own new goal. There are lots of places I'd like to revisit, and friends who would like someone to go with. There are plenty of point-free yet not point-less peaks I'd like to sit on as well. And some routes to travel, and some waterfalls to see, like you, phATty. But I'm also now into some 'random jaunts' as you call them. I guess I figure out some landmarks or other as a focus, but I've got more time to smell the proverbial roses now, and I'm enjoying that.

[north-north-west]

I've been sitting a few points short of my last goal for months, and I confess I get a bit antsy to get there sometimes. No enough, however, to proceed with a walk I won't enjoy, pushing through wet scrub in the cold. Or one that requires an attempt to cross an icy flooded creek. Or traipsing through deep mud, when I can wait for more enjoyable conditions. I think reaching 600 will be enough for me.

I'm aiming for 666. Will re-evaluate at that stage. But I'm not even sure where I am right now - probably 640 to 650ish. Haven't added the last few successful trips to the database yet.

[Mechanic-AL]

For goats, himalayan char and yaks, Mech Al
I think it is to protect from predators at night
John

Thanks John. Not sure why that wasn't obvious to me at the time.

Anybody who has ever thought 'I wonder what's around the next bend ? ' must have a good idea of what Sir Edmund was getting at when he uttered those immortal words. I get that.
To a certain degree I also understand the human desire to climb things.
It's when you have been boulder hopping up a scree for hours, any sense of enjoyment has completely faded, the chances of a summit view have been totally obliterated but still the desire to reach the summit over rules all other thoughts. That's when it becomes a bit mystifying.
I wonder, in those circumstances, how much the human desire to dominate the natural environment plays a part ? How much the need to 'Conquer' the mountain comes to the fore.
Just a thought.....

[north-north-west]

It's not conquering the mountain. You never conquer a mountain; it remains where it is and what it is despite your ephemeral presence. It's more about conquering your own weaknesses and doubts. And, sometimes, it's just sheer bloodymindedness because "damn it, I came here to climb the thing and I'm going to climb the thing".

Last edited by north-north-west on Mon 26 Aug, 2024 1:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Tortoise]

] And, sometimes, it's just sheer bloodymindedness because "damn it, I came here to climb the thing and I'm going to climb the thing".

Especially if it's a remote peak that took days to access. Otherwise it remains 'unfinished business'. I think some people are better at accepting that than others, and I've been better at some times than at others. Completing that unfinished business at a later date can be especially sweet. Like enjoying an hour or two on Pokana Peak on the second attempt. (All the more sweet given that the first time we didn't get back to our tents till 1 a.m., having not summited.)

But the nondescript little Everett still calls my name, since 2 attempts were thwarted by a great deal of thick scrub. We were trying to get there while avoiding Forico land and the required permit. "Why bother?" many would think. But it reminds me each time I see it. "Tortoise! Tortoise! I'm still here..." So a plan is still cooking...

[Lophophaps]

The walkers I don't understand are the "get up there and back as quickly and easily as possible, just to bag it" mob. I want to explore the whole lot; it's not enough to just hit the summit, I need to cover as much of the country around as is practical.

I share your view, pun intended. For me, bushwalking is immersing myself in the region, a journey from A to B as fast or slow as I like. Summits are part of that journey, but they are not everything. I like to camp on top of mountains, with some wonderful dusk and dawn experiences. Also, it's downhill after breakfast, always nice. If you look around a bit there are campsites with varying degrees of shelter on or just below the summits of Bogong, Cope, Nelse, Jagungal, Gungartan, Dicky Cooper Bogong, Tate, Mann Bluff, Townsend, and King Davids Peak. Ida was a non-starter, and a lot of necky scrambling to get there. Rim Lake was a lot flatter and had less rocks.

It's not conquering the mountain. You never conquer a mountain; it remains where it is and what it is despite your ephemeral presence. It's more about conquering your own weaknesses and doubts. And, sometimes, it's just sheer bloodymindedness because "damn it, I came here to climb the thing and I'm going to climb the thing".

I have never conquered a mountain. I have walked, skied and climbed to the top, allowed there due to the weather and stamina. One very, very long hard day I was taking three steps and pausing for 10-30 seconds for the last 500 metres of distance, maybe 60 metres of climbing. Tenacity 9, stamina 1.

I do not know how many mountains I have climbed. Some have variety. Feathertop - NW Spur, Bungalow, Razorback, Diamantina Spur - summer and winter, ice climbing in the gullies, all enjoyable ... mostly. The bottom 400 metres of Diamantina is too steep.

It's just nice being in the bush, far from the madding crowds.

[keithj]

It's just nice being in the bush, far from the madding crowds.

That was my view... get away from normal people. But it's more than just that.

I was in a Swiss Hotel 2 weeks ago and saw an old poster of a skier with the caption 'The slopes are calling... and I must go'.
So I took this photo specifically so I could send it to my wife (who was with me on this ascent) whenever I got the urge.

The mountains are calling... and I must go