RH: In Ascent on G2, the wonderful film that traces your climb of Gasherbrum II, you speak briefly with Alex Lowe, considered, before his untimely death, the best all-around climber in the world. What was he like? And did you climb with him?
CB: I didn’t climb with Alex Lowe. My climbing partner has quite a bit, and the things I’ve heard about Alex — he was a very nice person. I just met him for a minute; we did an interview together, but he was a very nice person. I’ve always heard good things about him.

RH: Someone in the film speaks of the pain involved in climbing. Have you suffered much physically or psychologically in the mountains? Peter Habeler remarked that you suffer quietly, without complaining. Just knowing Lowe briefly and then learning of his death is a painful experience, is it not? And every other woman who has tried the 14 8,000-meter peaks has died. This too must be painful and frightening.
CB: You do suffer a lot. I think some of us — that’s why we’re in the sport, especially high- altitude mountaineering: it’s cold; sometimes you have a headache. It’s not a very pleasant experience vs. rock climbing on a sunny crag. But I think that’s why a lot of us are drawn to it. I enjoy that hardship, the physical challenge; the more I push myself and the more I have the pain, I enjoy it, and when I look back at it, I feel like I really accomplished something. And that’s me.

RH: That’s amazing. You quote a Japanese climber who exclaims, “Either summit or die!” How do you feel about this attitude?
CB: That came from … a really good climber, Hector Ponce de Leon [of Mexico]; and he said that once on Aconcagua: This Japanese climber [in a] storm, and they said, you better turn around, and the Japanese climber looked at him and said, “Summit or die.” So that was always kind of an ongoing joke that we used on that expedition. But for me personally, I think everybody in the mountains, they have to take responsibility for their actions, and when people push themselves so much, you kind of sit there and go OK, I might not come back, and that’s your preference. But when you bring other people into the picture for a rescue, I think that’s very selfish. These other people might get hurt because you’re up there at 8,000 meters needing help. So I think ... when you climb you need to take responsibility for your actions.

RH: I am sure you know that in certain cases, especially with Japanese and Korean climbers, they set out with the a priori supposition that we will get somebody to the summit of our group and if someone dies that’s a sacrifice we’re willing to make. Whereas for the most part European and American climbers do not set out with that; they would say, we’d love to get someone to the summit but if it’s a matter of someone dying, we, I hope, would stop and rescue the person, despite what just happened on Everest, which was quite horrible.
CB: Yes, I see that with the Korean culture. We’ve helped out Koreans on Makalu. ... I think some of that is starting to change. [That] is what I’ve heard, that they’re getting a lot better trained and more experienced when they go to the mountains, but I am not sure where that all stands anymore. ... I’ve seen it with inexperienced Europeans, Americans too. So it’s not just one country.

RH: Well, we have a mountaineering ethical obligation and we also have a human obligation to help people who are in trouble. Fred, when he climbed in the Alps, 20, 25 years ago, told me that guides in the Alps from Chamonix have an obligation, even when they are guiding, to stop, have their clients stand still, while they climb down and rescue a person who is calling for help. And I think that that’s a good attitude even though the client might suffer, maybe not make the summit, but it seems horrible to let someone purposely die when you could help. Sometimes you can’t, and I don’t know what the outcome would have been on Everest, if some of those 40 people had stopped and tried to help, but that’s a very unpleasant situation. For people who aren’t mountaineers, it gives them a bad perspective on what we do.
CB: I don’t know all the circumstances on this last Everest thing so it’s hard for me to speculate, but I have helped people already and have had to put my clients ... and tie them off on something and help somebody else that was in trouble, but that’s just part of the game. As a guide, you’re a role model, and you need to show your clients the proper etiquette when you’re in the mountains. And, of course, not just for the clients; you should help other people. ...

RH: Brent Bishop (who is one of the few son-father pairs to summit Everest) was one of your fellow climbers on G2. What was it like climbing with him? I was amazed that he tore his head open with an ice ax.
CB: Well, Brent is a character for sure. Really, the only time I ever climbed with Brent was on the Gasherbrum II expedition. He’s a funny guy; he’s very nice.

RH: What happened with his head?
CB: I think what he was doing was he put his ice ax into a serac to push himself up, and it popped out and hit him in the head.

RH: Was it bad?
CB: It wasn’t bad — he didn’t need stiches or anything like that.

RH: In Ascent on G2, the wonderful film that traces your climb of Gasherbrum II, you speak briefly with Alex Lowe, considered, before his untimely death, the best all-around climber in the world. What was he like? And did you climb with him?
CB: I didn’t climb with Alex Lowe. My climbing partner has quite a bit, and the things I’ve heard about Alex — he was a very nice person. I just met him for a minute; we did an interview together, but he was a very nice person. I’ve always heard good things about him.

RH: Someone in the film speaks of the pain involved in climbing. Have you suffered much physically or psychologically in the mountains? Peter Habeler remarked that you suffer quietly, without complaining. Just knowing Lowe briefly and then learning of his death is a painful experience, is it not? And every other woman who has tried the 14 8,000-meter peaks has died. This too must be painful and frightening.
CB: You do suffer a lot. I think some of us — that’s why we’re in the sport, especially high- altitude mountaineering: it’s cold; sometimes you have a headache. It’s not a very pleasant experience vs. rock climbing on a sunny crag. But I think that’s why a lot of us are drawn to it. I enjoy that hardship, the physical challenge; the more I push myself and the more I have the pain, I enjoy it, and when I look back at it, I feel like I really accomplished something. And that’s me.

RH: That’s amazing. You quote a Japanese climber who exclaims, “Either summit or die!” How do you feel about this attitude?
CB: That came from … a really good climber, Hector Ponce de Leon [of Mexico]; and he said that once on Aconcagua: This Japanese climber [in a] storm, and they said, you better turn around, and the Japanese climber looked at him and said, “Summit or die.” So that was always kind of an ongoing joke that we used on that expedition. But for me personally, I think everybody in the mountains, they have to take responsibility for their actions, and when people push themselves so much, you kind of sit there and go OK, I might not come back, and that’s your preference. But when you bring other people into the picture for a rescue, I think that’s very selfish. These other people might get hurt because you’re up there at 8,000 meters needing help. So I think ... when you climb you need to take responsibility for your actions.

RH: I am sure you know that in certain cases, especially with Japanese and Korean climbers, they set out with the a priori supposition that we will get somebody to the summit of our group and if someone dies that’s a sacrifice we’re willing to make. Whereas for the most part European and American climbers do not set out with that; they would say, we’d love to get someone to the summit but if it’s a matter of someone dying, we, I hope, would stop and rescue the person, despite what just happened on Everest, which was quite horrible.
CB: Yes, I see that with the Korean culture. We’ve helped out Koreans on Makalu. ... I think some of that is starting to change. [That] is what I’ve heard, that they’re getting a lot better trained and more experienced when they go to the mountains, but I am not sure where that all stands anymore. ... I’ve seen it with inexperienced Europeans, Americans too. So it’s not just one country.

RH: Well, we have a mountaineering ethical obligation and we also have a human obligation to help people who are in trouble. Fred, when he climbed in the Alps, 20, 25 years ago, told me that guides in the Alps from Chamonix have an obligation, even when they are guiding, to stop, have their clients stand still, while they climb down and rescue a person who is calling for help. And I think that that’s a good attitude even though the client might suffer, maybe not make the summit, but it seems horrible to let someone purposely die when you could help. Sometimes you can’t, and I don’t know what the outcome would have been on Everest, if some of those 40 people had stopped and tried to help, but that’s a very unpleasant situation. For people who aren’t mountaineers, it gives them a bad perspective on what we do.
CB: I don’t know all the circumstances on this last Everest thing so it’s hard for me to speculate, but I have helped people already and have had to put my clients ... and tie them off on something and help somebody else that was in trouble, but that’s just part of the game. As a guide, you’re a role model, and you need to show your clients the proper etiquette when you’re in the mountains. And, of course, not just for the clients; you should help other people. ...

RH: Brent Bishop (who is one of the few son-father pairs to summit Everest) was one of your fellow climbers on G2. What was it like climbing with him? I was amazed that he tore his head open with an ice ax.
CB: Well, Brent is a character for sure. Really, the only time I ever climbed with Brent was on the Gasherbrum II expedition. He’s a funny guy; he’s very nice.

RH: What happened with his head?
CB: I think what he was doing was he put his ice ax into a serac to push himself up, and it popped out and hit him in the head.

RH: Was it bad?
CB: It wasn’t bad — he didn’t need stiches or anything like that.

RH: In Ascent on G2, the wonderful film that traces your climb of Gasherbrum II, you speak briefly with Alex Lowe, considered, before his untimely death, the best all-around climber in the world. What was he like? And did you climb with him?
CB: I didn’t climb with Alex Lowe. My climbing partner has quite a bit, and the things I’ve heard about Alex — he was a very nice person. I just met him for a minute; we did an interview together, but he was a very nice person. I’ve always heard good things about him.

RH: Someone in the film speaks of the pain involved in climbing. Have you suffered much physically or psychologically in the mountains? Peter Habeler remarked that you suffer quietly, without complaining. Just knowing Lowe briefly and then learning of his death is a painful experience, is it not? And every other woman who has tried the 14 8,000-meter peaks has died. This too must be painful and frightening.
CB: You do suffer a lot. I think some of us — that’s why we’re in the sport, especially high- altitude mountaineering: it’s cold; sometimes you have a headache. It’s not a very pleasant experience vs. rock climbing on a sunny crag. But I think that’s why a lot of us are drawn to it. I enjoy that hardship, the physical challenge; the more I push myself and the more I have the pain, I enjoy it, and when I look back at it, I feel like I really accomplished something. And that’s me.

RH: That’s amazing. You quote a Japanese climber who exclaims, “Either summit or die!” How do you feel about this attitude?
CB: That came from … a really good climber, Hector Ponce de Leon [of Mexico]; and he said that once on Aconcagua: This Japanese climber [in a] storm, and they said, you better turn around, and the Japanese climber looked at him and said, “Summit or die.” So that was always kind of an ongoing joke that we used on that expedition. But for me personally, I think everybody in the mountains, they have to take responsibility for their actions, and when people push themselves so much, you kind of sit there and go OK, I might not come back, and that’s your preference. But when you bring other people into the picture for a rescue, I think that’s very selfish. These other people might get hurt because you’re up there at 8,000 meters needing help. So I think ... when you climb you need to take responsibility for your actions.

RH: I am sure you know that in certain cases, especially with Japanese and Korean climbers, they set out with the a priori supposition that we will get somebody to the summit of our group and if someone dies that’s a sacrifice we’re willing to make. Whereas for the most part European and American climbers do not set out with that; they would say, we’d love to get someone to the summit but if it’s a matter of someone dying, we, I hope, would stop and rescue the person, despite what just happened on Everest, which was quite horrible.
CB: Yes, I see that with the Korean culture. We’ve helped out Koreans on Makalu. ... I think some of that is starting to change. [That] is what I’ve heard, that they’re getting a lot better trained and more experienced when they go to the mountains, but I am not sure where that all stands anymore. ... I’ve seen it with inexperienced Europeans, Americans too. So it’s not just one country.

RH: Well, we have a mountaineering ethical obligation and we also have a human obligation to help people who are in trouble. Fred, when he climbed in the Alps, 20, 25 years ago, told me that guides in the Alps from Chamonix have an obligation, even when they are guiding, to stop, have their clients stand still, while they climb down and rescue a person who is calling for help. And I think that that’s a good attitude even though the client might suffer, maybe not make the summit, but it seems horrible to let someone purposely die when you could help. Sometimes you can’t, and I don’t know what the outcome would have been on Everest, if some of those 40 people had stopped and tried to help, but that’s a very unpleasant situation. For people who aren’t mountaineers, it gives them a bad perspective on what we do.
CB: I don’t know all the circumstances on this last Everest thing so it’s hard for me to speculate, but I have helped people already and have had to put my clients ... and tie them off on something and help somebody else that was in trouble, but that’s just part of the game. As a guide, you’re a role model, and you need to show your clients the proper etiquette when you’re in the mountains. And, of course, not just for the clients; you should help other people. ...

RH: Brent Bishop (who is one of the few son-father pairs to summit Everest) was one of your fellow climbers on G2. What was it like climbing with him? I was amazed that he tore his head open with an ice ax.
CB: Well, Brent is a character for sure. Really, the only time I ever climbed with Brent was on the Gasherbrum II expedition. He’s a funny guy; he’s very nice.

RH: What happened with his head?
CB: I think what he was doing was he put his ice ax into a serac to push himself up, and it popped out and hit him in the head.

RH: Was it bad?
CB: It wasn’t bad — he didn’t need stiches or anything like that.

RH: In Ascent on G2, the wonderful film that traces your climb of Gasherbrum II, you speak briefly with Alex Lowe, considered, before his untimely death, the best all-around climber in the world. What was he like? And did you climb with him?
CB: I didn’t climb with Alex Lowe. My climbing partner has quite a bit, and the things I’ve heard about Alex — he was a very nice person. I just met him for a minute; we did an interview together, but he was a very nice person. I’ve always heard good things about him.

RH: Someone in the film speaks of the pain involved in climbing. Have you suffered much physically or psychologically in the mountains? Peter Habeler remarked that you suffer quietly, without complaining. Just knowing Lowe briefly and then learning of his death is a painful experience, is it not? And every other woman who has tried the 14 8,000-meter peaks has died. This too must be painful and frightening.
CB: You do suffer a lot. I think some of us — that’s why we’re in the sport, especially high- altitude mountaineering: it’s cold; sometimes you have a headache. It’s not a very pleasant experience vs. rock climbing on a sunny crag. But I think that’s why a lot of us are drawn to it. I enjoy that hardship, the physical challenge; the more I push myself and the more I have the pain, I enjoy it, and when I look back at it, I feel like I really accomplished something. And that’s me.

RH: That’s amazing. You quote a Japanese climber who exclaims, “Either summit or die!” How do you feel about this attitude?
CB: That came from … a really good climber, Hector Ponce de Leon [of Mexico]; and he said that once on Aconcagua: This Japanese climber [in a] storm, and they said, you better turn around, and the Japanese climber looked at him and said, “Summit or die.” So that was always kind of an ongoing joke that we used on that expedition. But for me personally, I think everybody in the mountains, they have to take responsibility for their actions, and when people push themselves so much, you kind of sit there and go OK, I might not come back, and that’s your preference. But when you bring other people into the picture for a rescue, I think that’s very selfish. These other people might get hurt because you’re up there at 8,000 meters needing help. So I think ... when you climb you need to take responsibility for your actions.

RH: I am sure you know that in certain cases, especially with Japanese and Korean climbers, they set out with the a priori supposition that we will get somebody to the summit of our group and if someone dies that’s a sacrifice we’re willing to make. Whereas for the most part European and American climbers do not set out with that; they would say, we’d love to get someone to the summit but if it’s a matter of someone dying, we, I hope, would stop and rescue the person, despite what just happened on Everest, which was quite horrible.
CB: Yes, I see that with the Korean culture. We’ve helped out Koreans on Makalu. ... I think some of that is starting to change. [That] is what I’ve heard, that they’re getting a lot better trained and more experienced when they go to the mountains, but I am not sure where that all stands anymore. ... I’ve seen it with inexperienced Europeans, Americans too. So it’s not just one country.

RH: Well, we have a mountaineering ethical obligation and we also have a human obligation to help people who are in trouble. Fred, when he climbed in the Alps, 20, 25 years ago, told me that guides in the Alps from Chamonix have an obligation, even when they are guiding, to stop, have their clients stand still, while they climb down and rescue a person who is calling for help. And I think that that’s a good attitude even though the client might suffer, maybe not make the summit, but it seems horrible to let someone purposely die when you could help. Sometimes you can’t, and I don’t know what the outcome would have been on Everest, if some of those 40 people had stopped and tried to help, but that’s a very unpleasant situation. For people who aren’t mountaineers, it gives them a bad perspective on what we do.
CB: I don’t know all the circumstances on this last Everest thing so it’s hard for me to speculate, but I have helped people already and have had to put my clients ... and tie them off on something and help somebody else that was in trouble, but that’s just part of the game. As a guide, you’re a role model, and you need to show your clients the proper etiquette when you’re in the mountains. And, of course, not just for the clients; you should help other people. ...

RH: Brent Bishop (who is one of the few son-father pairs to summit Everest) was one of your fellow climbers on G2. What was it like climbing with him? I was amazed that he tore his head open with an ice ax.
CB: Well, Brent is a character for sure. Really, the only time I ever climbed with Brent was on the Gasherbrum II expedition. He’s a funny guy; he’s very nice.

RH: What happened with his head?
CB: I think what he was doing was he put his ice ax into a serac to push himself up, and it popped out and hit him in the head.

RH: Was it bad?
CB: It wasn’t bad — he didn’t need stiches or anything like that.

Previous Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next Page