Climbing Mountains

Mountain guide Gavin Lang and ice climbing ace Sooji Clarkson share their top tips and the best climbs for newcomers.

paying attention to new risks or changing risks is just as important.

Any lessons learned from the mountains that you can share? Sooji:

We’re tougher than we think. I am working on being more resilient… how cranky do I get when stressed, cold, hungry or tired? Practising this kind of resilience flows over into life – the little things don’t bother or stress you so much, and it’s an exercise in operating under pressure. But don’t forget to enjoy the little things. A cup of hot tea is never more rewarding than after a cold, wet day, and your friends are the closest when you’ve been through a di icult experience together. You will always know much more truly who someone is after a di icult weekend trip together, than from months of avoiding the pressure cooker and only socialising in comfortable, easy places.

Gavin: Listen to your intuition – if something doesn’t feel right, speak up, act on it or make changes. Intuition is an undervalued resource in the mountains.

Listen to your body – both in the short term and long term sense. Sometimes little niggles can become big issues.

When you get to the point where you feel very comfortable in the mountains, be extra cautious. Complacency and familiarity play their own part in mountaineering accidents.

Mountaineering can be addictive and any addiction is unhealthy. All addictions wear down your body and mind one way or another. Watch out for the signals of addiction.

What is your advice for someone wanting to start climbing? Sooji:

Get into it, stay humble – there’s ALWAYS more you can learn – and make sure it is for the right reasons. Don’t do it for ego or just ‘getting to the top’ – 99.9 per cent of alpine climbing is NOT standing on top, so if you don’t enjoy the journey to the top, you’re in for a pretty disappointing time.

Gavin: Do fun things rather than scary or dangerous things and don’t follow someone else who’s new to climbing into terrain you’re not comfortable on, expecting them to figure everything out. Also, don’t wait to be invited. Take the first steps yourself into easy terrain and do it often. Get mileage on easy terrain in all kinds of conditions, like hard and soft snow, in all weather, using technical gear like crampons or axes. By the time you get to more serious terrain you will likely feel fitter and a whole lot more comfortable being there because of all the experiences you’ve had up to that point.

What inspired this book?

Gavin: I wanted to convey the benefits of climbing/mountaineering to personal health and development. Also, the fact that no one has photographed the Southern Alps in this way before... I’d been dreaming about doing this for 15 years before I finally took action.

What do you hope people take from it?

Gavin: A sense of gratitude and wonder for our wild places and a better understanding of why we should go there. How managing risk in the outdoors is a tool that can be applied to everyday life.

Sooji: That alpine climbing is not about conquering mountains, or just standing on top. I don’t believe we conquer mountains – they are still there when we leave, pretty much the same, and will still present the same or even additional challenges if we went back again. The challenges and the journey are the real part of climbing for me – and the people we share these with.