Be mentally strong. Suffer well. Kelly Cordes.
Cordes is hardly a household name, even among a household of climbers. But everyone has heard of “type two fun,” even if type two fun has been co-opted by the coddled generation to mean anything that caused you to break a sweat. Heck, even a bead of perspiration qualifies as type two fun in the age of micro-aggressions and trigger events. Cordes is the recipient of the American Alpine Club (AAC) Pinnacle Award in 2025 for outstanding achievements in mountaineering and was thus speaking to Provost on the AAC’s signature podcast.
It’s a great episode if you like Cordes – who I think is a quiet genius both as a climber/writer and as a thinker. One of those rare and brilliant individuals with little in the way of formal education (a bonus in the age of group think universities) who is as capable of spotting a stunning line to climb as they are of cutting through all the bullshit of modern society. In fact, Cordes almost convinces me that being a thinker and writer go hand in hand for what better way is there to process your thoughts and make sense of the world around you than to write about your experiences.
While the host acknowledges Cordes’ quirky (non PC) sense of humour, it’s not clear that she actually finds anything he says funny, but, then again, a middle class white woman in America is, statistically, more likely to have a psychological condition than to have a sense of humour. That’s not actually a joke, but it should be. For a taste of the trademark Cordes humour, have a read of this, published in Rock and Ice.
Alpine style represents minimalism, showing respect for the places that draw you there in the first place. Kelly Cordes.
We haven’t had minimalism in Australia for a few decades, most especially in public outdoor spaces where the move to over-engineer trails, “mitigate” risk, and reduce any real connection with the natural world has reached its acme. The amount of money and time spent to build short sections of track in Australia has reached mind-boggling levels. Case in point, three kilometres of trail in Sydney cost $9.5 million and took six years to complete! You might wonder if the trail was built with nail scissors, but, in reality, the first five years were probably the compilation of various health and safety reports followed by a year of laying down completely level boardwalk and the ubiquitous bakers dozen warning signs lest a traveller stub a toe.
Among states of absurdity, Victoria has reached dizzy new heights of retardation. While at the same time approving the installation of two via ferratas at Mount Buller (literally iron staircase), the government, under the auspices of the deranged Parks Victoria, has all but banned traditional climbing from Mount Arapilies. Keep in mind that via ferratas involve bolting and gluing iron rungs and cables into cliffs, while traditional climbing leaves no trace on the rock as the second climber removes the protection that the lead climber places. Apart from perhaps some chalk marks, which wash off in the rain, there is no sign of the climbers passage. By this logic, bolted and permanent iron ladder equals good, leave no trace climber equals bad.
What really is behind this extraordinary divestment of rational thinking as, even the loopy left that can’t distinguish men from women, can see that these two options are in direct contradiction to one another. In my mind, it comes down to two things, both of which socialists appear to resent. The first is freedom. Freedom to make my own decisions, take my own risks, and bear the consequences of my choices. The second is money! Climbers have always been known to be stingy bunch, willing to sacrifice all manner of luxury comforts to afford a new cam to fill out their rack. While Rock Wire at Mount Buller can charge almost $300 for a half day tour, rock climbing is essentially free. And therein lies the second orthogonal juxtaposition: socialist governments that love capitalist money making endeavours as long as they can cream their taxes off the top. Australia has entered the commodification of wild places and, like Cordes on the Azeem Ridge on Great Trango Tower, retreat is not an option.
No comments:
Post a Comment