3 Trends the LHO Mountaineering Community are Disrupting

“We aren’t the 7 summits community. We’re the 700,000 summits community.”

1- The 7 Summits

Before dissecting this one, let me say in no uncertain terms that there is absolutely nothing wrong with choosing a trajectory that encompasses the 7 summits. However it is important to realize that they barely cover one tenth of one percent of what is possible in the high altitude environment. If we believe that everyone can find something for themselves in the mountains then fundamental to that is to show the 700,000 summits of possibility. Some may find that glacier traverses are what they love. Others me enjoy the big faces and grade climbing. Some of us want to just live in high altitude. None of this is wrong or right but if we aren’t exposed to the possibilities during our formative years in the mountains we may never find that thing that makes us want to come back again and again. We’ve seen so many potential community members join the 7 summits trajectory only to turn away from mountains all together when they’ve encountered one that they didn’t enjoy because they just aren’t exposed to other possibilities. We aren’t the 7 summits community. We’re the 700,000 summits community.

2- Biceps and Fist Pumps

Being comfortable with our physical abilities is fundamental to any challenge that requires us to push our bodies in all sorts of ways, but the idea that the number of bicep curls determines how far you get in the outdoors is nonsense.

“Mountaineering is a culture. It has no single profile and you’d be surprised who you’ll find pushing the boundaries.”

I’ve seen the most unlikely shapes and sizes in some of the most incredible places even as recently as the summit of the Mont Blanc on our own team! Mountaineering is a culture. It has no single profile and you’d be surprised who you’ll find pushing the boundaries. The key ingredients are a positive attitude and wanting it. Everything else can be molded to fit the itinerary.

3- Enjoyment Through Education

This is probably the most unattractive of our trend busters. We’re those annoying people who say that you need to study in order to achieve and to take responsibility for your decisions, which is far less attractive than to say “just wing it and chances are you’ll succeed.” More and more community members are joining courses and choosing to build their skills and become conscientious climbers who want to participate in the decision making process rather than delegating it to a rope fixers or guides. Doing this, at the very least, puts us in the driving seat of our trajectory and enables us to make informed decisions that can impact the way we experience this humbling environment. It also enables us to plot our own course in the mountains and not to just become mindless trend followers that to go whichever way the Instagram wind blows.