The House Advantage

For me success in the mountains boils down to one thing; coming home in one piece.

-K

To Be, or Not to Be

Letting loose a long sigh, I walk downstairs and look over my gear, trying to decide what to bring and what to leave behind. This is the plan, drive the car to the top of Mt. Evans, ride the bikes down the mountain, lock them up, then after a short scramble climb a multi-pitch ridge to the top, grab the car, then the bikes, and head home. We brought as little climbing gear as possible, and just enough layers to stay warm. We rechecked the weather, high of 50 degrees, overcast, and decided to try it. We did everything we could to make that day a success. 

The House Advantage   

When you walk out your front door in the morning, when lock the car and put the keys in your pack, you agree to play by mother natures rules. We reached the foot of the climb, an hour after leaving the car, put on all of our climbing gear, then the snow started to fall. It was light at first, and then it wasn't as light, then we could see no farther then 50 ft. We locked eyes and said without words, 'lets wait and see what happens'. 10 minutes later it had gotten worse, and now the loose shale we had come over was covered in snow. 

Having A 'Successful' Day

We packed up our climbing gear, which turned out to be dead weight, and set up a steep section that we thought was doable without micro-spikes and without having to use the climbing gear to remain safe. Every step we took had 8 inches of vertical gain. It was difficult, and when we reached the ridge line, the snow stopped, and nature laughed at us. After we got to the car and picked up the bikes both of us decided that we had made the right call knowing what we knew at the time. 

Knowing the Odds

The biggest thing that you need to know when you are in the mountains, is having the courage to say 'today isn't the day'. Realizing that the mountains will still be there tomorrow, next week, next year. That will keep you safer then any piece of equipment money can buy. Goran Kropp is a perfect example of that. After riding his bike to the base camp of Everest he made it to within 300 feet of the summit, and tuned around. If he hadn't he would have been coming down in the dark. 

This was the same day the events of Into Thin Air took place. Had he not turned around, he too would have been caught in the legendary storm.

Final Thoughts

There have been days where I regret not going to the mountains, never for a second do I regret getting somewhere and deciding its not the right time. Do I wonder what would have happened had we stayed another 10 minutes, yeah, I do. But I can sleep soundly because we made the right choice and played it safe. Some might say it was a day wasted, I would answer them there is never a bad day in the mountains, there are some days that don't go according to plan but that is what makes it an adventure. What I have learned from days where I walked away is far more valuable to me then the days where everything went according to plan. Things went according to plan because somewhere, to some degree, sometime before we learned that something didn't work. You don't learn from success, you learn from your failures. I believe having a failed attempt, yet learning from that 'failure' is actually a success. 

Check this out.

K