For a small, committed group of climbers, a new challenge has emerged. These guys don't formulate new routes or target increasingly elusive first ascents; instead, their mission is to climb mountains in record times. They see speed as the only real challenge left in the mountaineering world.
A Swiss mountaineer named Ueli Steck recently smashed the record for an ascent of the 13,000ft Mount Eiger in the Swiss Alps. The climb had never previously been completed in less than 18 hours, but he did it in a ridiculously quick 2 hours and 47 minutes. Let's just say he wasn't there for the scenery.
Whereas previous generations could experience the true sense of adventure that comes with crossing new frontiers and reaching uncharted places, there are scant opportunities for mountaineers to have these kinds of genuine experiences now. As such, it's no surprise that some climbers are looking for other ways to challenge themselves and to get that feeling of being the first person to accomplish something.
However, some people feel that peak running, or speed climbing, isn't a positive development for mountaineering, arguing that it goes against much of what the sport is all about.
One can hardly fail to be impressed by the speed at which these guys can get up a mountain. At the same time, however, it is perhaps regrettable that the more romantic aspects of climbing - the sense of escape, the connection with the wilderness, the "recognitions of transcendent power," to quote Wordsworth - evaporate in the heat of the single-minded focus on speed. Many climbers see a big difference between climbing as purely a physical challenge and climbing as a vehicle for adventure.
Nevertheless, it will be fascinating to see how far speed climbing can go. Chad Kellogg, a 40-year-old climber from Seattle, has already conquered Mt. Rainier in tennis shoes and running shorts, and is currently training for a solo ascent of Everest, where he hopes to set a record for the quickest climb to the summit, without supplemental oxygen.
A Swiss mountaineer named Ueli Steck recently smashed the record for an ascent of the 13,000ft Mount Eiger in the Swiss Alps. The climb had never previously been completed in less than 18 hours, but he did it in a ridiculously quick 2 hours and 47 minutes. Let's just say he wasn't there for the scenery.
Whereas previous generations could experience the true sense of adventure that comes with crossing new frontiers and reaching uncharted places, there are scant opportunities for mountaineers to have these kinds of genuine experiences now. As such, it's no surprise that some climbers are looking for other ways to challenge themselves and to get that feeling of being the first person to accomplish something.
However, some people feel that peak running, or speed climbing, isn't a positive development for mountaineering, arguing that it goes against much of what the sport is all about.
One can hardly fail to be impressed by the speed at which these guys can get up a mountain. At the same time, however, it is perhaps regrettable that the more romantic aspects of climbing - the sense of escape, the connection with the wilderness, the "recognitions of transcendent power," to quote Wordsworth - evaporate in the heat of the single-minded focus on speed. Many climbers see a big difference between climbing as purely a physical challenge and climbing as a vehicle for adventure.
Nevertheless, it will be fascinating to see how far speed climbing can go. Chad Kellogg, a 40-year-old climber from Seattle, has already conquered Mt. Rainier in tennis shoes and running shorts, and is currently training for a solo ascent of Everest, where he hopes to set a record for the quickest climb to the summit, without supplemental oxygen.
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