Mountain Clients

Quotations:

'It [the BMC] exists to further the interests of mountaineering (not sports climbing) as a whole, and it will succeed in this only in so far as it receives the full support of each and every mountaineer... It should be needless to add that there will be no attempt to introduce anything so foolish as a qualification scheme for 'mountain leaders'.' G. A. Dummett, Pembroke College, Cambridge, 1946.

"No man or woman who tries to pursue an ideal in his or her own way is without enemies." (Daisy Bates)

"It is common to tie them (2 ropes) together with an overhand knot as this is less likely to jam in cracks." (The British Mountaineering Council) http://www.thebmc.co.uk/Feature.aspx?id=1736 (The overhand knot, which has been known to unravel, or, the British Death Knot)

62 Year old climbs Eiger North Face (29 Mar 2007)

Climbers were throwing their 'rattles out of their cots' at the news that apparently, a mountainclients took two BMG guides up the North face ofthe Eiger in March, 2007, in five days.  It apparently mattered not, that the mountainclient had had a triple heart bypass, had lost several fingers and was over sixty years of age. The North face of the Eiger of course, was climbed by an older mountainclient in 1997 when a 72 year old Italian climber made the ascent in - 18 hours. He also, took two guides along with him.

As awsome as this ascent has been for such a novice climber, sadly, the flood-gates will now open and many young climbers will be killed attempting this climb (it depends on the weather now that all the crux pitches are 'fixed'). In 1962 when Ian Clough and Chris Bonington made the first British ascent of the North face of the Eiger, they came across two young climbers; two young men who had never climbed anything of significance before. They did not know how to abseil back to the correct line having gone astray high on the face (near the, above the Spider) That these two made a successful ascent was hidden from general climbing - the flood-gates would have opened. They had left a note for one of their mothers stating where they had gone - she contacted the police who were waiting for, and arrested the two young - would -be climbers - they had no equipment.

But now; now that a novice, 62 year old, disabled person has successfully chanced and climbed the North face, who knows what will now happen. On reflection I take my hat off to Mr Fiennes - well done Sir...I hope that it will have been worth it.

2004 Year of Hard Knocks while 2008, was even worse...

French mountain guides (UIAGM / IFMGA) had a particularly bad year in 2004. According to: http://www.pistehors.com/comments/375_0_1_0_C/ they lost 9 guides along with 6 mountain clients, apparently, twice the annual average. I will leave you to therefore, work out how many clients have been lost, on average, annually in the past... The above statistic of course, pales in the light of five guides and nine clients (aspirent guides) who were killed in a single avalanche in June, 1964, on the Aiguille Vert above Chamonix and six Swiss soldiers who died in 2007, their UIAGM guides were found to be not at fault (of course) in November, 2009. The two UIAGM guides who led the (12) Swiss soldiers into the avalanche conditions were awarded $75,000 each probably for - hurt feelings.

Since November, 2008 the UIAGM / IFMGA have lost 11 guides very little is know as to how their clients fared (November 2009) in those fatal accidents as most public interest information is invariably - covered up...

Mountain Clients 'inexperienced' Shock (10 Jun 2003)

There was shock and outrage today after it was revealed that mountain clients are quite inexperienced. "We all thought that they were very experienced and competent in all aspects of mountain guide care..." Apparently, mountain clients have been enticing mountain guides into dangerous mountains with great wadges of cash. "They have made a mess of Mount Everest,' one suntanned guide said. "Offering us all that money to take them to places that we thought they were competent to go to - and then dying on us. It just isn't fair."

Elswhere in the Journal: Models 'quite pretty' shock. Athletes 'very athletic' shock. Soldiers quite violent.

Threats to Sue Mountainclients (3 Jun 2003)

Apparently, and I have yet to have it confirmed, having already wasted at least, £10,000 of BMC membership money in pursuing; threatening litigation against Rockfax the producer of excellent climbing guidebooks, apparently the vampire's thirst for control has been turned to mountainclients. Had the BMC pursued the Association of British Mountain Guides (instead of providing financial assistance, office facilities and assisting with advertising) as to why so many clients were dying - mountainclients would not exist... As mountainclients is a public service, a collection of information - already in the public domain, the outcome will be very interesting.

In 1985, the BMC tried to put Club Westploration out of business (another of their targets Highland Guides, finally surcumbed). As the telephone call from Pete Livesey informed me: 'The BCM 'circular' (change the content of your  adverting) went to just three organisations including yourself Dennis.' None of the BMC's cronies received the circular. Club Westploration's advertising was finally tampered with and ruined in High Magazine (the official magazine of the BMC) in 1987.

Dead Guides (20 Mar 2003)

An individual has posted on Rockfax, the British Mountaineering Council sponsored web-site today (Dead Guides), Monday the 17 of March asking (siting two supposed such incidents) how many mountain clients have caused the death of their famous guide.

He has sited: Lionel Terray who's death by a rock climbing fall in which his companion (client or friend ?) also died and, Roger Baxter-Jones who took his client (there was intitially confusion about the client being a friend or otherwise) into avalanche conditions on the North Face of the Triolet above Chamonix in the French Alps (that morning in fact eight climbers died from avalanche related accidents in the Chamonix Aiguilles).

The ensuing ice wall collapse (the conditions were to warm) killed not only both of them, but also four Austrian climbers behind them. According to the original poster, these facts point to dare I say - client error. In fact, neither accident was, can be attributed to the mountain clients fault.

Sports Climbers Bring Climbing into Disrepute (7 Nov 2005)

E-mail from Anthony Morgan, Director of the TarmacWestern´s Operations: ´Dear Mr Morrod, You say in your opening statement that Tarmac have allowed climbers to access Pant Quarry and use bolts to facilitate their "sport".

This could not be further from the truth. Tarmac have been involved in a running battle with climbers trespassing (illegaly of course) at Pant Quarry despite all of the signage posted and our best efforts to secure the site. We ourselves enlisted the help of authorised climbers to remove bolts in an act to dissuade people from using the Quarry in this way.

I hope that Tarmac can call upon your support by dissuading climbers (whether using bolts or not) from entering this site and blatantly breaking the law. Yours sincerely, Anthony Morgan.' Ha, fat chance of that (getting members of the BMC to act in a considerate and legal manner) Mr Morgan.   

The Wearing of Helmets (21 Mar 2005)

Whilst in Chamonix this summer it was interesting to note the increase in the wearing of helmets by the clients of UIAGM/IFMGA guides.In the last two years there hasbeen a sudden surge in the use of protective head gear amongst clients that is, apart from the 'main man' the guy who controls the safety of these clients i.e. the guide. Standing out like a sore thumb, the unhelmeted instructor/guide is still quite evident amongst the groups of now helmeted clients practicing, for example, ice climbing on the Mer de Glace.

 

Who looks after the clients if the instructor/guide falls/stumbles and receives a head injury? It happens/it has happened...

 

The increase in the wearing of helmets on the Gouter Ridge was also quite impressive this year. Even so, too many young people were killed in the infamous Gouter couloir  on this section of Mont Blanc  - once again last (2002) summer .

 

Even so, illustrations in BMC publications still insist in the main, on showing climbers not - wearing protective head gear (2005). Going one step further, a letter published in the November, 2008 issue of Summit, the BMC magazine, was brought to my notice: 'We [the BMC] receive many letters 'complaining' about the publication of climbers not wearing protective gear - but we still still believe that it is a personal decision...' True, but the BMC is supposedly at the 'Peak of its Profession' and should therefore start acting in a professional manner and show responsible climbing practices. Selling insurance to climbers on one hand and then supporting the none wearing of helmets, an action that could allow insurance companies to refuse to  pay-out in an accident where a helmet could have prevented an insurance claim - beggars belief.