Don't Let your MBA Suck the Soul Out of you Hobbies

The latest issue of my Wharton alumni magazine arrived a week ago. As usual, I looked at the class news sections to see who wrote about their new job using nonsensical corporate buzz, investor relations pitch, and rationalizations. For example, "I am starting my own long-term, early stage mezzanine fund with a focus on transforming legacy systems in emerging economies to dynamic, nimble, green-based cloud systems. I work 18 hours a day and drink my own urine because I don't have time to drink and go to the bathroom but I wouldn't trade this experience for anything!"

After that enjoyable perusal, I saw an article about Lei Wang's attempt to become the 10th person in the galaxy to climb the highest peak on each continent and ski both Poles. Wang's background makes the story even more incredible. I also knew Wang, was a classmate of hers, and saw Luna in concert with her (another example of her sense of adventure). I like her but hate her climbing philosophy. I hate the sin but love the sinner or in more modern parlance, I won't hate the playa, just the game. I ain't no playa hata but I am going to criticize her quotes in the article. This does not mean I am critical of Wang herself and everything that she has done.

This is part of the larger issue of MBA's who take the fun out of any hobby. They are not content to have a leisure activity but need to be the best at the leisure activity and establish metrics to dominate that leisure activity. These metrics are pursued with the intensity of a quarterly earning reports where it is not enough to meet analyst expectations. No, the ideal MBA will attempt to kill themselves with exertion to meet those metrics or even better, or achieve the holy grail of exceeding them. An MBA will not just take up knitting and maybe make a scarf and hat or two. An MBA must knit a wardrobe for a small village while starting a side knitting business that will be taken public.

Wang is guilty of this (but I'm not being a playa hata it's for illustrative purposes of a larger problem). I had previously read she wanted to initially accomplish her goal by the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. That's because MBA's don't just like to accomplish incredible goals in their lifetimes but they like to finish them early. The Wharton magazine article talks about Wang battling hypothermia, food poisoning, and fire breathing dragons with big swords in an effort to summit. This is actually a bigger issue of climbers making bad decisions to reach the summit rather than try another day. Or, the desire for MBA's to push their bodies to the absolute limits for their hobbies. There is no distinction in effort between jobs, relationships, or hobbies. If an MBA became a monk, they would pray and chant harder than anyone else in order to achieve enlightenment by year end in order to achieve first mover advantage in their cloister.

I've been climbing for about the same time as Wang. Last summer, I backpacked to the beautiful Lake of the Angels in the Olympic Penninsula to climb Mt Stone, a modest 6,612 foot peak. I tweaked my ham string during the hike and decided not to climb. Instead I enjoyed the lake, goats, and hiked to the top of a ridge to enjoy the views. The mountain will always be there, I'll have the vacation days, and I can climb it when I wouldn't risk my safety. I preferred to climb the 10,778 foot Mt Baker for a glacier experience rather than the 14,411 foot Mt Rainier. The reason is that the glacier travel experience on Baker is similar to Rainier without having to gain 5,000 feet of elevation for the approach. The "prestige" of climbing Rainier is not worth it for me. I take climbing classes, I take opportunities to improve my skills, and I enjoy climbing as a hobby. It's not about achievement for me.

Future MBA's, remember this when you first experience the powerful force of hundreds of MBA's together in a small building. Placing all those type A personalities in one room violates a law of physics since energy gets created in greater quantities than the mass that produces it. Or something like that. Channel that competitive spirit into appropriate places like your job, career, or philanthropy. If you like to jog, you don't have to run an iron man marathon. If you like to write, you don't need to publish a best seller in 5 languages. If you like to snort cocaine, you don't need to inhale a small Colombian jungle.
Don't let the MBA competitive spirit consume your soul by taking over your hobbies.
And Lei, congratulations, on your climbs.

Mt Hood rescues, Locator Units (MLU's), do you need a rope, and how tough is it to climb

Unfortunately, there has been a winter climbing accident on Mt Hood. Two climbers are still missing on the west side of the mountain near Reid Glacier and one was found dead. It's always heart wrenching to hear these stories. No matter how many times that I climb Hood (3 times), I am still drawn to it and plan to climb it this winter. I always hope that my training, conditioning, and safety measures will get me down safely. After that, everything else is out of my hands.

Whenever there are these highly publicized accidents, 2 questions emerge in the media which are:
1. Why aren't all climbers required to carry Mt Hood Locator Units (MLU's) or other tracking devices?
2. Should climbers have to pay for their own rescues?

Portland Mountain Rescue, a volunteer organization of highly trained rescuers and educators, answered both questions very well in their press release. However, I will elaborate on the first question since I think that it's a hard one for the public to understand and climbers have a hard time explaining it.

There are limits: MLU's are little boxes worn on a strap that is carried outside someone's jacket or backpack. They only work on Mt Hood where sensors are set up, the climber has to activate the signal, and this signal is only detected if someone is actively looking for it. It's not like a bat signal that goes out in the sky when there is danger. If a group is taken by surprise by an avalanche or the person who is carrying the MLU falls and is knocked unconscious, the signal will not be able to be activated.

It is not the most important piece of equipment: The other limits to MLU's is that it doesn't create an instant rescue. A climber needs warm clothes, food, or a bivy sack to survive cold conditions. Even better, the climber should have rope, pickets for creating anchors, maps, compasses, or first aid gear so they can avoid the need for a rescue or possibly move themselves out of harm's way. Or even better yet, climbers should review weather and snow conditions to they know if they should be climbing in the first place.

It's the most intensive measure: In summary, focusing on MLU's for the primary tool for mountain rescues is like focusing on pace makers or cholesterol lowering drugs as the primary tool for preventing heart attacks. It's the equivalent of ignoring diet, exercise, education, monitoring or other preventive measures. It's like someone ordering a Hardee's Thick Burger, large fries with mayonnaise, and a Diet Coke. The Diet Coke doesn't cancel out the other mistakes. The MLU is held up as a silver bullet of mountain rescue when it's really about the planning, conditioning, and proper equipment. Focusing on MLU's is really misplaced focus. Yes, they are helpful but not as helpful as the other things that I mentioned. I think that I have run out of analogies to use and encourage reading the Portland Mountain Rescue site for other examples.

Is Mount Hood tough to climb and do you need a rope? I get a fair amount of google traffic with these questions and I have yet to completely provide my opinion. Quite simply, yes it's tough to climb and you do need a rope and pickets (also called protection). I have only climbed the south side which is the easiest side and the chutes have become quite steep. Going up and down the chutes involves snow climbing so some loose snow or foothold could easily result in a slip. If someone slips, they risk a fast slide off a short ridge. Unless someone is very experienced or comfortable, I wouldn't climb it without a rope team and pickets. Pickets are 2 foot long metal bars with a carabiner clip attached. A climber drives them into the snow and clips the rope through the carabiner. A rope team without a picket or protection mainly allows the whole team to potentially fall if one member falls.

Caveats abound and I gear this advice for a fairly new climber who is researching. Someone looking for specific route information or climbing routes other than the south side have already stopped reading. Someone who is wondering about a less tough climb should check out Mt St Helens. Someone who was really wondering how tough my hood was, has already put a cap in this blog's @ss.

Olympic Penninsula: Mt Washington/Ellinor Traverse

This weekend was my final climb of the season with my climbing club. It was a new twist on two climbs that I've previously done in the snow as we climbed up Mt Washington and traversed the scree slopes below the ridge that connects to Mt Ellinor.

Mt Washington is a very enjoyable climb with some route finding challenges. The route we took concludes by circling the summit block on a comfortable ledge and a 30 foot class 3 scramble to the top. It takes 4-6 hours to summit and I included some details below.

Here's a picture of on the summit block ledge that I mentioned above:









For climbing up Mt Washington, here is some data that will hopefully help with route finding on the climber's trail or Big Creek trail or Route 1 in the Climber's Guide to Mt Olympus that the Mountineers produced.
1. Trail starts in between the turn off for the Mt Ellinor trailhead and the waterfall that is Big Creek. It's easy to miss but look to the left of the big mossy rock.
2. Trail is pretty straight forward until you reach 4800 feet of elevation. We went right and stopped at a steep scree section when we should have gone left through the woods. Look for discreet orange tape on branches of some cairns. The path will cut through the woods and follows a gully to a basin.
3. One you reach the basin (5000 feet), you will see an appealing gully to the far right. Resist and look at the paths in the ridge on the left or to the right of the highest point in the picture below. The path is straight up from the green backpack of the person farthest to the right.

4. Once you go over the ridge, you will pass a memorial cross (land mark for the traverse route) and see the summit block with ledge to the right. Follow the ledge for a short distance and look for the section for the summit scramble. You will not follow the ledge completely around the summit block.






The Mt Ellinor route from the trail head is a fairly straight forward hike to the top and a good beginner climb. During the winter it features a luge-like glisade route in the snow (I believe that glisade is Swiss for "sliding down the snow on your butt).

However, if you go via the traverse approach that we did, it involves ascending a pretty impressive scree slope. The scree slope is pictured below and it's the gully to the left of the snow that looks steeper than it is. Sometimes the footing was almost North Sister-esque but you would only fall down a few feet if you slipped.

I managed to fall down while just standing still and got a nice bruise and impressive cut on my fore arm. It looks like I was in a knife fight.















For the start of the traverse route, you descend from the Mt Washington summit and cross over to the back of Mt Washington at a white memorial cross that was dedicated to fallen climber. It's around 5800 feet. Keep descending until you reach the lake at around 5220 feet and make your way up that scree slope above to Ellinor. Here is a picture of the lake:


At this point, the only thing standing between you and Mt Ellinor is 700 feet of scree. Hopefully, you'll see some goats along the way.

Mt Hood Climb

Climbing season officially opened for me last Wednesday night with a summit of Mt Hood at 8 am Thursday morning. I had climbed Mt Hood twice before in 2005 and 2006 but this was a different experience since the terrain had shifted. The Hogsback, a snow ridge had previously led right to the Pearly Gates which was a relatively easy snow chute to ascend. The Pearly Gates is in the middle of the 2 cliffs on the right side of this picture. However, snow conditions changed and the Hogsback has been steadily shifting to the left (west). The current route is in the middle of the picture where you can see people ascending (although they look like ants in the picture).

We climbed to the left of the climb parties closer to the West Crater Rim route. It was to the left of the cliffs in the picture below.
It was one of the tougher climbs that I have ever done as the the warm weather had melted a lot of snow making the walls quite steep. We had about 50 feet up and down of almost vertical climbing, digging our ice axes and crampons into the snow. For safety, the 10 of us had roped up and used pickets (a 2 foot metal post that is spiked into the snow. The rope is clipped into the picket) for protection.

Mt Hood is always tough for me since you climb it at night during the spring (The snow is too unstable during the day for climbing). My body won't accept any food other than simple sugars and chocolate since it's not used to eating at night and all blood flow is directed towards my limbs for full sympathetic nervous system reaction. After every Hood climb, I always vow that will be my last one. Many people ask why that is even a question but being on the mountain is a great feeling. There's nothing like the close view of the unique mountain geography, that first view from 10,000 feet when the sun comes up, and the chess game of thinking ahead and figuring out the right moves on your route. The feeling of getting to the summit is only rivaled by that feeling when you get back to camp and can take your boots off. Here's a summit view of Mt Jefferson and the Three Sisters in Central Oregon.

When I tell folks about Hood climbs, some immediately ask if I bring a Mountain Locater Unit (MLU). These are similar to devices that are used to track wolves. If someone knows to look for you, they can find your signal. During the December 2006 search for the 3 missing climbers, the idea of these got very popular and some began to consider MLU's as the epitome of safety. Climbers got very defensive about the public philosophy and we tended not to do a good job of expressing our opinions about these devices but I am going to try.

1. Having an MLU does not mean that you will be safe. Checking the weather, having the right equipment, training, first aid training, and ability to get yourself off the mountain during an accident is what makes you safe. An MLU is kind of like closing the door after the horse has left the barn. I try to explain to people that I am better off taking climbing classes, studying routes, having necessary safety equipment, and being physically prepared but that doesn't seem to impress people as much as the idea that someone could find my exact location with a tracking device.
2. An MLU only works if someone knows to look for you. It doesn't send a bat signal or automatically get picked up by a satellite. Someone has to know to activate the tracking devices. Just like all who waunder are not lost, all who have MLU's won't necessarily be found.
3. Even if someone can pinpoint your location, that doesn't mean that they can reach you. If there is a blizzard or other nasty weather conditions, a rescue team won't be able to do anything.

We did have an MLU with us but what made me feel safe was the skill of our climb leader with setting pickets for protection and finding the route, my rope team leader who followed the route, and my other team members who gave warnings when ice was falling from the cliffs. The pain of the climb has faded and I already can feel the fortitude of my vow that this is my last Hood climb fading away.

Our Fair City's Guardian: Mt Hood

You can see Mt Hood, an 11,235 foot peak, from a surprising number of spots around Portland. Mt St Helens also makes an appearance with it's distinct flat dome that's slowly rebuilding the top that was blown off in 1980. Those 2 peaks as well as Mt Adams make up the Guardian Peaks. The story that ties those peaks together is a Native American legend that has a few versions but essentially involves a love triangle with Mt Adams and Mt Hood competing for the affections of Mt St Helens. It did not end well for the lovers were smitten in place for eternity. The symbol of a smoldering, lava-spewing volcano is a very appropriate for a star crossed lover.

I took this photo above which shows the east side of Mt Hood. The south side to the left is the most popular climbing route. The 3 climbers who received national media attention in December 2006 climbed up the steeper north route. With respect to the climbers, Mt Hood does have many faces, not just the inhospitable one.

We made it out to the Mt Hood area for the first time this season which is what got me thinking about the peak. We snow shoed around a popular area called Trillium Lake which has enough open areas to give a perfect view of the south side of Mt Hood with all of its features. I also see Mt Hood on most clear days when I leave the western suburb where I work. It looms behind one of the downtown towers and than shows up again when I cross the bridge on the way home. It's a comforting reminder that in the city, the mountains are never far away.

I consider myself to be a mountineer because it makes me sound tough and every guy wants some ability to claim that they haven't grown completely soft. The mountains nearby made mountineering really appealing so I don't have to start doing mixed martial arts or practice survival skills. The mountineering also gives me some training goals to always shoot for. For my Mt Baker climb, I used a work stair master while wearing a backpack with a 45 pound weight. It took my co-workers a month to muster the courage to ask me about this unusual exercise routine.

The picture to the right is both really spectacular and shows the south side climbing route that I've done twice. It reminds me of my 3 favorite experience with Mt Hood which were:

1. First Ascent: On my 31st birthday, a crew that I played Ultimate Frisbee and I headed out for most of our 1st climb. We knew just enough to be dangerous as only one of us had climbed it before. Our team was dubbed "88 million" after the typical sperm count that makes up one serving at a sperm bank (which is another story all together :). Two climbers who had done all 3 Guardian Peaks within 48 hours stormed past us on the way up. We almost got turned back by the fog but just as we had given up, we hiked through it and saw a clear sky which gave us the 2nd wind. It was my first ascent of Hood and you never forget your first.
2. Snow Climbing: Three years later, I had gotten more serious and took a climbing class with the Mazamas, a volunteer outdoor group. We had found a 20 foot wall of snow that had melted out where we practiced climbing, rappelling, using our ice axes, and setting anchors. One our teammate fell through the soft snow, blew out 3 anchors, and slammed into a rock wall on the bottom which ended the playful mood and made us realize that we had to be serious. He was all right and we resumed snow climbing up some pretty vertical walls. It made me realize that I had gotten pretty serious about climbing as I spent a Saturday simulating climbing. It was also a lot of fun, kind of an adult play ground.
3. Teaching how to fall: The lower part of the south side is often used by Mazamas for early trainings on how to travel in the snow which includes self-arrest for a rope team that falls. Luckily, the most spectacular falls that I have seen were only during this training. One involved a rope team of 4 Intro to climbing students. As the team hiked on the edge of a cornice close to a steep snow wall, a co-leader grabbed the rope and took a running leap off the cornice and dropped at least 10 feet to the snow below. It was an incredible self-sacrific for an authentic falling experience. Everyone dug their ice axes into the ice in time. The 2nd incredible fall was one that I created. We were hiking up a canyon below a parking lot (training areas weren't really great view but effective for the conditions) when a leader instructed me to fall. I took a running leap and flipped the person ahead of me onto his back. He caught himself with his ice axe but that was one of the few times this individual was speechless.