Page 58 - 2018 AMA Winter

FINALTHOUGHTS
IS THERE ANYWHERE LEFT TO EXPLORE?
The world is shrinking. Technology moves on at a frenetic pace. We can now fly to most places on the globe in around 24 hours. We can use Google Maps to see virtually the entire surface of the planet from our computer, even our mobile phone. We no longer need to book a trip to the Royal Geograph- ical Society to see some dusty half-fin- ished map with areas marked “There be dragons!” With all this knowledge and access, are there still places left where we can climb something truly new and exploratory? Will we get to a point where someone has already been there before? What will the climbing of tomorrow look like? No more new routes?
Legacy and history still influence our climbing choices today. Our forefathers have gone before us and they provide lessons and inspiration alike. They experienced the anticipation, the unknown, the fear, the success and sometimes the failure. It is still less than 100 years ago that the Army supported Mallory and Irvine in their attempt to climb Everest - a legacy that the AMA will attempt to rectify in 2024.
Epics and adventures are still to be had and summits will always be there to obtain. Stories by Nick Bullock at the AGM in the summer of his adventures in the 21 st century are as inspiring and funny as tales of the past. Given the epics he talks, however, about you may never want to climb with him or you may not come back in one piece!
We are a strange bunch as climbers. We idolise those who have gone first, discuss their exploits and want to replicate their endeavours - getting your name in a guidebook will always be a big thing. To maintain this we must strive to find new paths to walk. But as the world shrinks, routes are climbed and the greater ranges explored to the full, opportunities will
become less. Ultimately new routes will become less as the impossible is left unclimbable. Maybe true exploratory for the future will be more about the next generation experiencing what the last achieved for themselves. A new generation of climbers reliving the thrill of a route or a summit for the first time, creating their own stories to pass on.
Rest assured the world is not climbed out just yet - never forget that there is always the North Face to try! Nor will it be in the next couple of years. Climate change is altering conditions across the
‘Rest assured the world is not climbed out just yet - never forget that there is always the North Face to try!’
world and you only have to look at ice pack breakup in the Antarctic and the major rock falls In the Alps this summer to see this in operation. It will bring new challenges but also fresh opportunities to explore new places and the AMA will continue to attempt to go there. Not trying would be criminal. However,
not succeeding is as important as succeeding and we will continue to learn more from mistakes and failure
than we would do from it being easy. Easy can lead to complacency so challenge yourself. You will be surprised at what
you can achieve and what is still out there to do.
Technology is helping. Hob nail boots and plus fours have given way to
technical fleeces, multi-layer boots, down jackets and goretex. Axes no longer have wooden shafts but are hot forged. Karabiners are light weight not steel. Maps have been augmented by GPS but don’t forget that you can still get naviga- tionally challenged even in 2019! What will the technology of tomorrow bring?
So are things changing? Ultimately the experience is still the same as it ever was - snow is still snow, rock is still rock. You will be on the sharp end of a rope out there on your own with your fears and your expec- tations, wanting to succeed and fighting the pump or forging the trail. You will find yourself somewhere you have never been before and it will feel exploratory. The view will be spectacular and friends will share the thrill and the pain and they will be there for you. The memories will be forever. Even if it all gets climbed one day, for now there will always be somewhere new for you to explore - you just need to take the first step.
58 / ARMY MOUNTAINEER