68 T h e A l p i n e J o u r n A l 2 0 1 4 The ‘highest suspension bridge in Europe’ was opened PAUL SCHWEIZER last year on Titlis in central Switzerland. The bridge has no The Golden State Revisited function – it leads from the top station into an artificial tunnel and back. (Sam Kreuzer, Mountain Wilderness) Where do we head? The work of Mountain Wilderness is not that of romantic dreamers who live in the past and glorify a style of mountaineering popular 100 years ago. We value and respect recent great mountaineering accomplishments, many of which would not have been feasible decades ago. Nevertheless, it has become necessary to question whether much of today’s mountain- eering, as well as the current mountain-related tourism development is what we really want. Is it justifiable that the province of the Tyrol produces so much artificial snow every year that a four-lane highway from Innsbruck to Madrid, more than 2000 km, could be covered by 1 metre of snow (ÖRF 2013) – for the sake of maintaining a form of tourism that is long beyond sustainability? Is it reasonable, that a tunnel should be built on Mont Blanc to protect mountaineers from potential rockfall on their ascent to a newly renovated Climber on Knob Job (5.10b), Pat and Jack Pinnacle, Yosemite. (Dan Moore) Cabane Goûter? Should a ladder be installed on Hillary Step in order to prevent deadly congestion on the world’s highest mountain? Is it desirable y jet landed in Fresno on a Friday night, close to midnight local that alpinism become an Olympic sport? Mtime. Fortunately there was still one lone taxi loitering outside which These are questions that should concern all of us. As responsible moun- conveyed me to the La Quinta Inn where I had a reservation for the night. taineers, we should not allow mountaineering to become a commodity. I’d been invited by the American Alpine Club to participate in their week- Mountain Wilderness has a clear take on this: it is in our hands whether long 2012 International Climbers’ Meet (ICM), to be held in Yosemite in we leave the joy of wild areas to future generations – or whether we subject early October. The late night air was warm, dry and pleasingly fragrant mountain sports to total commercialisation. with the scent of fruit trees wafting in from the vast tracts of agricultural land surrounding the city. A subtle wave of nostalgia followed on the References fragrance – I was back in the Golden State after many years away. Henderson N. 1992. Wilderness and the nature conservation ideal: Britain, The hotel looked a bit seedier than in their website photos, and there was Canada, and the United States contrasted. Ambio 21(6): 394-399. a bunch of Harley choppers parked outside. In an exhausted and jet-lagged Mountain Wilderness International. 2008. The origin of Mountain Wilder- state I struggled to wedge myself, duffel bag and large rucksack through the ness. mountainwilderness.org/mountainwilderness/origin/ accessed on narrow spring-loaded reception door. Two enormous black Hell’s Angels 12.12.2013. were in the process of checking in and turned around to watch as I wres- ORF. 2013. Verblüffendes Zahlenspiel mit Kunstschnee. tirol.orf.at/news/ tled my bags through. Their Levi jackets bore the winged insignia of Black stories/2613179/; accessed on 13.12.2013. Hawks M.C. Each wore a large sheath knife at his belt, legal in California 69 70 T h e A l p i n e J o u r n A l 2 0 1 4 AA c i n T e r n at i o n A l c l i m b e r s ’ m e e T 71 as long as it’s plainly visible and doesn’t constitute a ‘concealed weapon’. Ulrika on pitch 1 of In my youth I’d spent a lot of time in the Bay Area between trips to the Commitment (5.9), Five Valley, and in those days there was an uneasy alliance between hippies and Open Books, Yosemite. Hell’s Angels, mainly because we had a few basics in common: drugs, long (Paul Schweizer) hair, choppers and rebellion. In general, gang members tended to be OK – as long as they thought you were on their side. trees for honing your After coolly clocking me the two burly dudes returned to their check-in. balance. The Valley Turned out that the whole gang was arriving that night and staying in the was a mandatory hotel for their annual reunion – great. pilgrimage site for I awoke next morning from a surprisingly restful sleep and, after success- dedicated climbers fully if groggily negotiating a breakfast room packed tight with Hell’s from around the Angels, made the Amtrak train connection to Merced where a YARTS bus world – people like picked me up exactly on schedule. Pete Livesey, Ron Early that afternoon, as the bus climbed steadily through the Sierra Fawcett, Reinhardt Nevada foothills on the long and twisting approach to the Valley, the Karl, Bill Denz, familiar scenery of sparsely wooded mountain sides and sparkling river- Wolfgang Güllich, beds beneath a sunny blue sky brought back wistful memories. My first Kurt Albert. There encounter with Yosemite in the summer of 1972 was a revelation. Nothing was a very special can prepare you for your first sight of El Capitan – that impossibly sheer vibe to Yosemite wall of gleaming rock, rising endlessly out of the forest, seems too vast to be in the 70s. At that real. The whole scale of the place was several orders of magnitude beyond particular moment anything I’d ever seen – gigantic waterfalls poured thousands of feet into it was at the cutting empty space, serene meadows were surrounded by fragrant forests of edge of the possible, towering pines – and everywhere you looked massive cliffs of shimmering the place where the white stone pierced a cobalt sky. Stunning natural beauty. The impact of future was already Yosemite was so strong that I took up rock climbing the very next year. happening. I was lucky enough to undergo many of my formative climbing experi- That was many ences in the Valley in the 1970s, during the ‘Golden Age’ of Yosemite years ago. I’d been free climbing. Life in the Valley was good: hanging out in Camp 4 and living in Edinburgh climbing every day on soaring, sundrenched cracks and immaculate slabs; since 1989 and now, swimming in the Merced River and sunbathing in the meadows; lounging somewhat ironically, in the shade at the deli drinking beers in the afternoon; smoking spliffs was returning to and drinking wine around a campfire at night, sleeping under the stars. Yosemite as a representative of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland. In those days the counterculture was still strong, and the California Stone Winding along the deeply forested entrance road to the Valley once Masters were at the forefront of technical prowess. Dropouts, druggies and again after so many years brought on a heady déjà-vu. The pines were still longhairs living in the dirt outside of society’s grasp – hardened devotees towering and the endless expanse of El Capitan still seemed too big to be of freedom. Climbing was still esoteric then – a rebel sport that hadn’t yet real. I stepped down from the bus in Curry Village to meet Carol Kotchek, sold its soul to gear manufacturers and the mass media. the ICM’s organizer, and a few of the local hosts and participants who When I first stayed at Camp 4 there was no time limit – you could remain were already there, including Andrey from Brazil, and Ulrika and Susanne as long as you wanted. The legendary Jim Bridwell was a fixture at the from Sweden. Spent a pleasant first evening sitting around the picnic table, rescue site, and younger rock-stars like John Long and the two emerging drinking wine and chatting with new acquaintances. Then on Sunday wunderkind of the era, John Bachar and Ron Kauk, were habitual residents. before the meet began I went cragging with Ulrika and Susanne – they’d Set up in the trees behind the rescue site was an elaborate outdoor gym – the been out climbing the day before and thankfully had a rental car. Yosemite climbers’ version of an Olympic training camp, replete with the On Monday 8 October the meet officially began. It got off to an auspi- original Bachar ladder, pull-up bars, finger tip pull-up boards, parallel bars, cious start with the Nepali team performing a blessing ceremony and iron cross rings, knotted rope, as well as a slack chain set up between two bestowing a white prayer scarf and ‘namaste’ upon each participant. The 72 T h e A l p i n e J o u r n A l 2 0 1 4 AA c i n T e r n at i o n A l c l i m b e r s ’ m e e T 73 rock climbing should be casual. Wednesday provided another day of sociable climbing on Manure Pile Buttress. I was settled into the rhythm of the ICM and really enjoying a good spirited and well organized event. Then on Thursday the unthinkable happened – it rained. Spent the day puttering about on some short routes down the Valley and below the clouds at Reed’s Pinnacle. As it transpired, ironically, one of the other climbers on the Reed’s Pinnacle excursion, Dan Moore, was also from Scotland. Turns out he’d been living in Edinburgh for the past couple of years and we’d never stumbled into each other before.