December 8, 2010 A carry up the fixed lines.

We slept late today.  I could hear the steady march of climbers leaving in the early hours, to High Camp.  But our plan was to rest up from the previous day's move, then carry a load up the fixed lines.  The fixed lines are a series of ropes running 700 meters up a very steep flank of Vinson.  Climbers clip into the lines for safety.  So steep is the incline, that an unsecured climber would have no practical chance of arresting a fall.  We each carried an allotment of group provisions laid out by Doug.  The hill looked formidable as we stood at the base.  A team was finishing the last pitch high above us.  They looked very small.  As the bulk of my training had focused on this type of work, I enjoyed a familiar sensation that bolstered my confidence.  Indeed, all team members progressed at a strong, steady pace.  Mitchell, who was behind me, noticed that my crampons had worked loose.  He cinched them tight for me.  I bantered with Steve, directly in front of me, and Phil, just ahead of him. We debated which Who album was best.  Phil said the Bee Gees came from the Isle of Man, to which Steve and I then added every historic figure we could think of, including John F. Kennedy….they were all from the Isle of Man.  "Hey Phil", I called out above me.  "Elton John versus Boy George in a knife fight.  Who do you like?"  "What are you talking about, Mate?"  "I'm just asking who you think would win. Try this, Mick Jagger versus Sid Vicious in a knife fight."  "I'll take Sid Vicious", Phil called down. "Me too", Steve added.  We stopped to take a photo of incredible landscape below us.  Starting up the rope again, I called, "Hey Steve!  Joan Baez versus Randy Bachman in a knife fight.  Who do you like?" "I don't know who these people are", Steve objected.  Steve is forty.  "Joan Baez is a folk singer, and Randy Bachman is the huge dude who fronts Bachman-Turner Overdrive.  C'mon man, he could eat her whole! That was an easy one." 
We rested at the top of the fixed lines, and cached our provisions.  We had covered about ¾ of the way to High Camp.  Tomorrow, when we move to High Camp, we will pick up those provisions on the way.  At dinner, a sumptuous chicken curry over noodles, Phil brought up my blog entry where I talk about Mountain Lovers, versus Summiters.  I sensed some bristling among team members, as the title of Summiter came to rest on their chief motives for taking on this climb.  Then Doug spoke up.  "That's kind of the reason you get in your car, isn't it? You're going somewhere."  I asked Doug if he would come to this place if there were no chance of summiting.  He said he would.  Every guide I've ever met is a true Mountain Lover.  Most Summiters aspire to that same deep connection with the mountains.  A few arrive at that place…..very few.