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Maybe the best point for a popular audience: > For alpinists, the public’s fascination with the highest mountains is a bit like judging an ocean swimmer by how
by carabiner 3y ago
Maybe the best point for a popular audience:
> For alpinists, the public’s fascination with the highest mountains is a bit like judging an ocean swimmer by how deep the water is. Marvell has had similar queries from well-meaning acquaintances: How high is Jannu? “That’s not really the point,” he said.
So you got stuff like Mt. Whitney in California, where you can walk to the top, and it's the highest point in the lower 48. Then you've got the same mountain but this route: https://gripped.com/news/new-13-pitch-5-13-on-mount-whitney/ https://gripped.com/news/new-13-pitch-5-13-on-mount-whitney/ which is dramatically more difficult. For climbers it's all about the route and max elevation is less important.
- Karellen 3y agoI wonder if the question a lot of the public are trying to ask is "How much vertical ascent is there in the climb?", but they're not familiar enough with climbing or its terminology to come up with the right wording in the moment, and it just comes out as "How high is it?" It's not like a lot of people would get much out of asking "How challenging is the climb?", because they'd have no real frame of reference for interpreting the answer. "How much up?" feels like a question that should be relevant, and to which the answer can be easily grasped.
- FartyMcFarter 3y agoMax elevation still matters a lot since it affects weather and oxygen levels.