"We, the masses, now insist on being ice climbers, winter hikers, winter campers. We learn that in recent years, the summit of Mount Washington has become available for overnight stays in the bleakest of midwinter, and we say, 'Cool!' "

The Tradgedy at Interlaken, Switzerland

On July 27, 1999, a flash flood killed 21 tourists and guides when a tree and boulder laden wave swept through a gorge near the town of Interlaken, Switzerland. The canyoning expedition raised a number of issues over why and at what cost peope are pursuing adventure. This new high-risk sport combines rock climbing, hiking and white-water river running. The sport has attracted thrill seekers who's appetite for adventure often exceeds their skills. As Bethany Jenkins, an Oregon Climber, explains, "European's idea of extreme is different. They go for more of an adrenaline rush than for a wilderness experience...It's advertised like an amusment park."

Mount Everest as a Playground

In the past few years a record number of people have been enticed to climb Mount Everest. With the recent tradgedy on Everest, climbers have become concerned with the skill levels of clients and guides. People who are ascending this mountain do not have the climbing skills, self-awareness, or endurance that are need to even attempt an 29,000 foot peak. Clients are naive to the idea that mountains such as Everest can be safely guided. (Child)

When a guide was asked about his client's experience levels, he replied by saying they did not have the skills to climb Everest, but that did not matter to him. "If they pay me, I'll take them as far as they can go. This is about business, not climbing." (Child) Since when is climbing Everest just a business? These clients have neither respect for the mountain nor respect for the sport. If there is anything that I have learned being a guide it is that if you do not have respect for the power of mother nature then you will not survive.

Guides do not intentionally mislead clients but they look at it as a business. Your in competition with other guiding companies. You promise them a certain level of sucess rates and a certain level of safety. (Jon Krakaur) Wilderness adventures however can not be seen simply as a commodity. It is not like a trip to Disney World where safety, satisfaction and comfort will be a gaurentee.

Ed Viesturs, a climber, believes that these guides need to make people aware of the risks of a climb such as Everest. He says that the main goal of these trips is "to have a great journey and to get them back home alive and then perhaps, if things go right, get them to the summit." He continues to say that guides "have to be selective and pick the people and not have them pick us (the companies)."

Gear as a Substitute for Knowledge

"The other day, while I waited for a radar scan to confirm my sense of impending thunderstormsm, an ad for a cell phone scrolled beneath the shifting maps and their stormy stories. It caught my eye. "Safety and Freedom," it promised. Own a cell phone, and both can be yours as you wander the American landscape. Strange twinning of promises, I thought. Doesn't pursuit of freedom entail some risk? Aren't we safest when we hunker down and go nowhere and do little?"

Technology is quickly putting an end to the possibility of true solitude. With the emergence of portable technology, the very idea of wilderness is disapearing. Wilderness is "supposed to be the place where, compasses notwithstanding, there is always the possibility of getting lost, where one must pit one's wit against the elements to survive." (John Markoff) Now with the assistance of cell phones and global positioning devices, people are pushing their limits. They are going harder and farther than ever before. Search and rrescue teams are seeing an increase in calls for help from scared hikers who really are not in any danger. According to John Markoff, rangers are afraid that these people are substituting basic wilderness survival skills with the latest mobile technology to get them out of tight spots.

The Cell Phone

People who are relying on cell phones for safety do not realize that in many places in the wilderness they do not work. As a guide, I have been trained to not be dependent on a cell phone. When you are situated in a canyon or cravasse, you need to hike to the top to make a call. When an emergency situation occurs, climbing out of the canyon can be a dangerous and time consuming thing to do. Even if a signal is found, it is very difficult to discribe your location to rescuers.

In an emergency sitatuation where a cell phone is not present, the "process of response slows down. First you evaluate the injury, taking time to test it against movement. Then you consider what resources you have to help you and what it will take to self-rescue. Finally, if the injury seems beyond self-rescue, you send a runner for help, but this is a last resort." (Mayer) But with a cell phone, things are rushed and the "checks and balances" disappear.

Why Extreme Adventuring?

Extreme sports have begun to pop up all over the place. It can be seen in advertising, on television, and even in fashion. Why this new interest? According to Michael Bane, author of Over the Edge: A Regular Guy's Odyssey to Extreme Sports, "the trend in society is to eliminate risk. It's gotten to the point where there are no more swings on playgrounds. At the same time, people are saying, 'Where's Indiana Jones?' People need adventure in their lives."

America has it's roots in revolution and its history filled with "fearless frontiersmen." However, society is now moving toward the timid and is restricted by ever-present legality issues. Extreme Adventures allow for a social outlet.