Alpine Mag (4) - Strength of Mind

This is the fourth and final article written for AlpineMag.com, published in spring 2021, after a successful winter alpine climbing.

Now we’re enjoying bright summer days and warm rock, the grip of winter seems like a distant memory. But for my final article in this series, I’d like to return to the start of the year, when snow crunched underfoot and the mountains glistened white.

In February, I climbed the 1938 route on the north face of the Eiger (the ‘voie normale’). Over a day and a half, my partner Tom Ripley and I retraced the steps of Anderl Heckmair, Ludwig Vörg, Fritz Kasparek & Heinrich Harrer. We marvelled at their audacity to climb this wall over 80 years ago. To be in the middle of this complex face and believe you can find a way up - and out - would’ve taken an enormous amount of self-belief. Was it confidence or arrogance? Did they care if they lived or died on the mountain? As a friend said, ‘they were ready for shit!’

Today’s attitudes are different. We travel only briefly into the mountains. We wait for when the weather, conditions and stars feel right for us. Our over-attachment to information means we’re always in contact, but conversely this makes it harder to be in touch with the natural world. The headstrong mentality of previous generations has been replaced; we retreat before a storm arrives, or prior to committing ourselves, rather than gunning for the summit. Of course, our modern thought processes are usually aided in a positive way by technology, making us safer, faster and better equipped than ever before.

What did I learn from this winter season? Did I reach out of my comfort zone, find some of the mental toughness from previous climbers? Certainly, I was extremely motivated (a natural disposition), which is a useful attribute. Amongst smaller ice, mixed and alpine routes, I also climbed the north faces of Grandes Jorasses, Les Droites, and attempted La Meije. Being psyched to climb (and finding a partner) is often the crux - if you have these things, you’ll usually be able to do something in the mountains.

I also had plenty of luck. Stones didn’t unexpectedly fall; my axes held firm in patches of neve; and storms didn’t boil out of nowhere. There were also several periods of stable high pressure in early 2021, allowing me to choose bigger alpine routes. Luck plays a large part in alpinism, but of course it’s not everything.

As Tom Ripley and I retraced those famous pitches on the Eiger, clipping gear which could’ve been in a museum, I remembered the mountain’s history. The north face was traditionally climbed in summer, but in recent times winter gives the best conditions. The notion of calendar seasons no longer exists - the weather patterns have become very different compared to previous records. Unfortunately, Tom and I found very little ice and neve on the Eiger. Modern climbers must accept ‘dry’ conditions are the new norm. We haven’t seen the longed-for slivers of ice streaking the mountains for nearly a decade.

The peaks may change, but our desire remains the same: to stand on the top. The 1938 route on the Eiger was enjoyable, and it was useful to familiarise myself with the face and its history. We can only know what to change and improve if we learn what has been before. I began to think about the Harlin Route, a harder version on the same face…

Does it matter what we climb? Do we care when our mountains transform in front of our eyes? I was 18 years old when I first spent a winter season in the Alps. I quickly learned I wanted to be high in the mountains, to be surrounded by jagged fingers of granite. Over 10 years later, I have adapted, just as we all have, to continue. And each time I stand beneath a 1000 metre face, I try to remember the strength of mind shown by the Eiger’s 1938 team.