Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man:A Field Guide to Leadership in the Great Outdoors Chapter 36

This is the thirty-sixth of a weekly blog series that will focus on leadership in the outdoors and how to get the most from the least. Even though the title is called, “Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man”, it will hopefully cover topics that are useful to everyone.

Chapter 36: Climb every mountain: A philosophy and purpose of goal setting.

“Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.”

― David McCullough Jr.

The following is a summary of what I believe the philosophy and outcomes of an adventure program for students or campers should include, and what should not be included. The main focus of any Outdoor Education Program should be experiential education focused on skills that will be taught from year-to-year, reviewed from year-to-year, with a summary expedition and proof of skill taking place as a culmination exercise. This final expedition will usually include 5 main parts: 1. Planning and Logistics stage completely prepared by the students. 2. Scientific/Surveying endeavor completed by the group during the trip 3. Completing all of the requirements during the expedition 4. Social projects related to the expedition 5. Sharing the expedition report upon successful completion.

I believe the focus of this trip should be able to be completed by the entire designated group with a focus on camaraderie and shared group objectives. This sentiment can best be expressed by a quote from legendary climber and outdoorsman Royal Robbins.

“My ambition was to become the best climber and I never did. I think that goal was a wrong goal. A better one is to put more emphasis on enjoyment and on getting a rounded experience and on things like friendship, rather than on sheer achievement.” -Royal Robbins

If the focus is on competition, the end goal will never be verified and accomplished by the students. This is the wrong mentality and process for what an education program should and ought to be. Having a competitive format will not prove anything, except for those who are the fastest hikers/runners and who can accomplish a “task” the quickest. The winner or winning team may not necessarily be the student that has the most knowledge or the best mastery of a skill. The skills taught in previous programs and experiences will undoubtedly be forgotten from year-to-year, but as long as the problem solving process and the core of the knowledge can be retained, the program must be counted as a success. There was a time when everyday practice and competition allowed me to be able to tie every knot, hitch and bend in knot tying books. I can no longer do this. This doesn’t mean that I am lesser in any way, it simply means that I have retained what I need for most practical purposes. The core knowledge is there, and most everything I frequently do outdoors can be accomplished with four of five knots and hitches, the knowledge and experience helps me know what to use and when. If I were to need more options, some time spent reviewing the resources would allow me the ability to relearn for a short time, but I would soon forget. It is the same with all of the skills we would teach in the Outdoor Education program to students; all of the knowledge is perishable and must be constantly practiced to be retained. The end goal is to put as many knowledge resources into the students’ minds as possible, so when the time comes they can pull from prior experiences and core pieces to problem solve. Doing this in a competitive format does little to prove skill knowledge or retention. The opposite should actually be the case, and we should be intentional about being as thorough and take as much time as needed. Successful completion of the program and particularly the long-term proof of skill tests is easily graded and judged. My belief in this grading system is that it allows for no gray areas and can be succinctly stated by this quote from an old-school climber and mountaineer, “In the mountains there are only two grades: you can either do it, or you can’t.”-Rusty Baille

The human desire for exploration is always present and we simply must engage our students and campers in a way that taps into this innate quest for knowledge and personal betterment. We should endeavor to return our students and campers to a simpler time and place when the founders of all great outdoor endeavors pushed the boundaries of what mankind thought was physically and mentally possible. These outdoor founders almost always took their time to be thorough and accomplish the tasks they set out to do. This doesn’t discount or cheapen the physical limits they pushed and we know from reading and studying first-hand accounts that these great explorers never saw what they were doing as part of a conquering process from a human physical standpoint, but from a human spirit viewpoint, as part of furthering what was possible for mankind.

“I feel like an old-fashioned mountain climber when I am making discoveries, seeing something for the first time, realizing that no human before me has ever seen what I am seeing. It takes your breath away - for just a moment, you feel a pause in time, as you know you are crossing a boundary into a new realm of knowledge.”-Heidi Hammel

After unsuccessful attempts at summiting many mountains throughout the years, I realized that much was learned by the students during the climb, but that most (if not all) were physically incapable of making such a climb. I do not believe this is unique to most of the general population we may encounter at a camp or education program. It does not mean the trip was unsuccessful, it simply means they are not physically strong hikers. The knowledge gained will be useful to the climbers in the future. The end goal of an educational program should never be to summit or climb 14ers, it should be to learn as much as possible along the way. The summiting process could simply happen to be the end of one chosen trail, with little weight given to whether it happens or not. We should never set out to become “that guy” who too often puts summiting at the cost of good judgement and responsible behavior. I believe it is a safe statement to say that no person is somehow better than another person because they have summited a mountain or accomplished some trivial outdoors task or program. This choice to explore and climb mountains must be a personal endeavor, and done solely for the sake of that person wanting to make themselves better and more knowledgeable than they were the day before, or to share something to further the world’s knowledge. This does not mean that we shouldn’t push our students to challenge themselves physically, mentally and emotionally everyday, but that may mean something different for every student. Too many times in Colorado, and other mountain states, I have seen others make their measure of self-worth and the measure of other people based on the challenges and climbs they have completed. This is absolutely the antithesis of what Mountaineering and Alpinism should represent. Alpinism, at its core, is about doing the most with the least amount, simply for the sake of doing it. These “merchants of light and fast” that we call Alpinist, know from experience and knowledge of how fast and far they can go, and more importantly what challenges they need to undertake to push their limits of what is possible for themselves, not others. The founders of Alpinism did not do this to earn approval from others or to have spectators and awards, they did it simply for the love of what they were doing. When rules and abstract objectives are brought into any outdoor endeavor, it somehow cheapens the experience and the spirit of Alpinism and Mountaineering is lost. There is a reason why the long enduring competition sports (baseball, basketball, rugby, cricket, etc.) have such well established rules and objectives, it is so that everyone who participates knows what they can and can’t do to beat the other players, and prepare accordingly. The mountains and outdoors are too grand, too awesome and too changing to ever have such constraints placed upon the activities of true Alpinism. If no one knew that you or I ever climbed a mountain, the world would simply be no different. I believe we need to teach our students to want to do all things at the best of their abilities for the right reasons, which is the core of Classical learning and thinking. The competition should lie in doing the best for best sake, not to garner awards or accolades. Our end goal should always be to make our Outdoor Education program the absolute best it can be, not to be told that it is the best or to get awards, but to have the students that complete the program be the most well-rounded and most educated students possible.

The approach we need to take to get students to want to be a useful expedition member or a contributing part of the student body or society in general needs to be one of an inspirational nature. If the students that attend our programs year after year obtain an interest in science, mathematics, literature or another subject area while they are participants of our programs and go on to a profession doing what they love to do, we have successfully completed our chosen task as educators. The same is true in any Outdoor Education program, it should not be teaching or leading these programs with an agenda, except to make the student the most complete outdoors person possible to build upon what is learned outside of the camp or education program at the camp. We should not approach these programs with a pseudo-military or professional athlete mindset, with the end goal that we will somehow create or build “super campers” that are somehow drawn into a life of special forces or professional competition. I would hope we would want more and better for our students through the process of making these outdoors programs all encompassing. There may be some students that are naturally drawn to military or endurance-like endeavors, which is a vital need for any healthy nation, but I believe this would be the exception and not the rule for students we typically encounter at any camp or education program throughout the United States. I would honor the student that chooses military service and be proud of them the same way I would be of a student that goes on to work in any profession that contributes to improving the world in any career field. Designing or setting up a program or a program conclusion in a “competition” fashion would be to let our students down at the end of our time educating them. We must remember at the end of the day that as great as climbing, skiing, skydiving, SCUBA, etc is for select military and professional forces, and as good as they are at doing these activities, their ultimate end goal is different than ours should be in education. When I was younger I used to look up to professional athletes and try to emulate who they were and how they carried themselves and conducted business. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized they were just men who did a job, and that they happened to have a special talent or gift, but that didn’t necessarily make them suited to somehow be a leader or an educator. The challenge doesn’t always need to be a professional level physical one to be admired. I have often heard that we should admire elite soldiers, sailors and athletes because of their training and their ability to endure, which is great, but there are others who can also be held in high esteem for different reasons. My mother raised three children as a single parent, all while working hard as a waitress in the evenings so she could attend college. She learned how to become the top tier educator that she is today to help others learn to help the world. In my book, this is equally as admirable as an athlete that completes an ultra-marathon and wins first place. Both are admirable for different reasons but equally important to that person that accomplished the feat. My mother doesn’t really care for the outdoors, much less have the physical ability to run a mile, so I would not judge her character or resolve based solely on physical prowess. She loved to learn and challenge herself for the sake of education and making the world a better place.

I would construct a final proof of skill expedition based on the following five objectives and measurement criteria. These are based on what I believe to descend directly from the work and educational philosophy of Dr. Kurt Hahn. Dr. Hahn believed that students and campers learn through analyzing their actions and the results or consequences of their actions. This can best be summed up by the following:

Causes for the decline of youth:

1. Decline of Fitness due to modern methods of locomotion [moving about]

2. Decline of Initiative and Enterprise due to the widespread disease of spectatoritis

3. Decline of Memory and Imagination due to the confused restlessness of modern life

4. Decline of Skill and Care due to the weakened tradition of craftsmanship

5. Decline of Self-discipline due to the ever-present availability of stimulants and tranquilizers

6. Decline of Compassion due to the unseemly haste with which modern life is conducted or, as William Temple called it, "spiritual death"

Four solutions to fix the problem:.

1. Fitness Training (e.g., to compete with oneself in physical fitness; in so doing, train the discipline and determination of the mind through the body)

2. Expeditions (e.g., via sea or land, to engage in long, challenging endurance tasks)

3. Projects (e.g., involving crafts and manual skills)

4. Rescue Service (e.g., surf lifesaving, fire fighting, first aid)

A program directly descended from Dr. Kurt Hahn’s ideal and design operates today in Scotland, and is called Gordonstoun. Gordonstoun utilizes an educational expedition for the culminating activity for their final year students, and in the spirit of a like minded program, a program of a similar design would be a great tribute to a highly functioning and successful education system. The final culminating expedition should include 5 main parts, with more intricate details included as needed based on logistics, location, staffing and equipment availability: 1. Planning and Logistics stage completely prepared by the students or campers. 2 Scientific/Surveying endeavor completed by the group during the trip 3. Completing all of the skill requirements during the expedition 4. Social projects related to the expedition 5. Sharing the expedition report upon successful completion.

Part 1: Planning and Logistics. The students would be given some set of parameters, such as rough location, time frame, transportation and goals/objectives that will be observed/evaluated. The students or campers would meet as a group to plan out all of the remaining details. The route and activities in the set expedition area would be completely planned by the students or campers. The needed gear list will be provided to the students or campers and it would become their responsibility to acquire maps, clothing systems, shelters, cook systems, etc. Some guidance would be provided as to where certain items could be obtained, as well as a current list of inventoried items and vendors that the program has available. The necessary arrangements for working with the local, regional and possibly national affiliated organizations would be handled by the students or campers.

Part 2: Scientific/Surveying endeavor: Part of the expedition trip will be focused on conducting a scientific study, survey or independent study chosen by the participants. Any outdoor education facility worth its salt will seek out partnerships with scientific and conservation organizations to make the conducted studies both relevant and useful for disseminating the information to the public. The students or campers will record their observations during the Expedition through journaling, charts, photography and other relevant means to make the information usable and accessible for future analysis and studies. The students or campers would be expected to have done research, readings and writings prior to the trip departure to prepare to make the collection process during the Expedition as expedient and efficient as possible. This will allow the students or campers to carry and utilize only the required equipment to conduct their field work, thus cutting down on the amount of items carried per person. The Natural History component of this Expedition would reinforce the overall emphasis of being a storyteller about God’s amazing creation, and as an added benefit students or campers will be observing and learning as much as they can about the world around them.

Part 3: Completing all of the skill requirements during the expedition: This part of the expedition will test the students’ and campers abilities in all of the hard outdoor skills. The students or campers will spend at least two nights on a “solo” test of skills (it may be necessary that the group be close to one another for logistical and safety purposes) with an additional day traveling and camping as the entire group/s. The students or campers will be given a bare amount of equipment and clothing and expected to utilize basic skills to adapt and live within the ecosystem. The leadership staff would shadow the group and test and record certain activities at pre-set checkpoints along the several day-long route. Overland travel and navigation will be a core theme to the Expedition. The trip will culminate in a climbing skills exhibition on the final day of the trip. The testing would include the following areas of skills/knowledge:

1. Rock Climbing - Top Rope

2. Rock Climbing - Traditional

3. Backpacking/Trekking

4. Cooking in Camp

5. Locating and Purifying Water

6. Backcountry Skiing and Touring- Nordic

7. Fishing

8. Foraging and Wild Edibles

9. Land Navigation I (Map and Compass)

10. Land Navigation II (GPS)

11. Leave No Trace/Outdoor Etiquette

12. Summer Base Camping

13. Group Dynamics and Leadership

14. Wilderness Medicine and Rescue

Proposed Progression and Timeline of the Culminating Expedition:

First Day of Program (Day 1): Meet at the originating program location. All the gear will be assembled, and a shake down process conducted. The group will do a final packing of gear and the group will be transported to a suitable isolated backcountry location (or another designated wilderness destination). Upon arrival at the wilderness destination, the group will establish a low impact group basecamp for the evening. The group will sleep in tents and eat simple backcountry meals prepared on camp stoves. The group will be given one final on-site briefing about goals, objectives, safety and rendezvous points along their routes.

Second Day of Program (Day 2): Participants will pack up their gear for transportation by the leadership staff. The participants will be left with a small day pack (possibles bag containing individual first aid kit), knife, 1 day’s worth of food, water bottle and metal cup, map and compass, rope and cord, small tarp and the clothes they are wearing. The goal will be to travel over a great distance using backcountry travel techniques to a predetermined destination/campsite. During the day’s travel, the participants will be responsible for rationing their food and finding wild edibles along the way. They will need to use their backcountry navigation skills to find drinkable sources of water. When the group arrives at the predetermined backcountry campsite they will use the skills learned to establish a “solo” campsite. This will include building their own shelters using the materials they find, as well as building a primitive fire and gathering other materials (wild edibles, cordage, signaling, etc.) for a one-night “solo” camping experience.

Third Day of Program (Day 3): The group will disassemble their shelters and fire pit areas in accordance with Leave No Trace (LNT) ethics. The individuals will determine their best route of travel for the day to arrive at their cache site (the leadership staff will be waiting with the gear at a predetermined location). This travel day will put the group to the cache site late in the day (3:00 PM). The group will then travel another 2-3 miles to a predetermined campsite near a reliable water source. Ideally this final section will be completed on snowshoes or Nordic skis. The leadership staff will be in the area during the campouts, but not with the group. The leadership staff will stay on a ridgeline in the area to track and observe the groups as they move and set-up camping areas. When arriving at camp, the emphasis will be placed on setting up camp first, which would include tents, fire areas, cooking areas, etc. After camp is established, the group will be allowed to cook their meals picked up at the cache site (dehydrated meals, fruits and veggies and dessert items).

Fourth Day of Program (Day 4): The group will pack-up camp and make sure the site meets the requirements for LNT ethics. The entire group will rendezvous at approved way point and will plot a route to the rock climb site (the site and route must be scouted and tried ahead of time by the leadership staff). This travel day should be around 10 miles. The group will use modern day (GPS) navigation equipment to travel to pre-arranged checkpoints along the over-country travel route. We will also utilize several team building challenges along the way, including a backcountry rescue/evacuation exercise requiring the group to move 2 injured people of their party (leadership staff) to a predetermined evacuation site. This will include the signaling and communication necessary to complete the evacuation. The group will also practice their tracking abilities to locate a missing group member (leadership staff), utilizing changes of terrain, tracks and trails left behind by the person, and backcountry lost hiker logic. The group will arrive back at basecamp to set-up a backcountry group camp for the night.

Fifth Day of Program (Day 5): The final day of the Expedition will be the rock climbing (or another advanced) skill assessment day. The testing stations will be broken up into three different areas, each with a different leadership staff observing and supervising.

Skill Area 1: Demonstrate the ability of the students to tie or utilize the appropriate knots/lashings and protection equipment to build a substantial climbing/rappelling anchor.

Skill Area 2: Demonstrate the ability of the students to climb on rock routes from 5.4-5.6 (evaluated and graded by leadership staff on prior scouting trips). The students will climb and belay at this station on a top-rope set-up. The students will also rappel from this station, utilizing an autoblock configuration.

Skill Area 3: Advanced station for students with pre-approved climbing ability. This station will demonstrate the ability of the advanced students to conduct a traditional lead climbing route (student will be on belay from top-rope, top belay during the lead climbing station).

Return to origin site location after completing the five-day Expedition program.

Part 4: Social Projects related to the expedition. This would be a pre-determined project decided upon by the participants. Social servitude should be an essential part of any high functioning camp or education program and should be a core piece of the culminating experience. This project could include or benefit many different partner organizations, or could be a project completely unique and self-contained within an already established camp or outdoor education program.

Part 5: Sharing the expedition report upon successful completion. This would be a formal event several weeks after the expedition in which the participants would share their findings from the expedition with their peer groups, parents, camp staff, donors and the greater involved community. This could be done through a dinner presentation in which the highlights of the group journals and records, along with a photo/video presentation could be shared to discuss what the goals the group had set out to accomplish, as well as findings/conclusion and presentation of thank you letters (especially to donors and contributors) and awards.

A Well-Known Summit.

In conclusion, there are many different routes to arrive at the same destination, but there should always be some intentionality about keeping an overall camp or education program heading in the direction of a goal or objective. This will help ensure that the countless hours and resources expended on a program will have an outcome that is not only measurable, but will benefit the participants in a meaningful and life-long lasting way. Programs similar to the one I outlined above have proved successful throughout the years and it also has the added benefit of encouraging students or campers to return year-after-year to complete a substantial goal that they have played an integral part of working towards. In today’s world of social media and almost instant gratification, having a program that is both mentally and physically demanding over a great length of time will be an outlier in most students and campers lives. A program like this certainly should be viewed as an essential and positive service for the overall health and sociability of the world. Having a tangible shared experience, especially one that requires great effort on every person’s part, helps human beings develop compassion, empathy and the ability to work together through thick-and thin times. To prepare the next generation for a world of unknown difficulties, we must plan our goals accordingly and know that being in His outdoor creation is where the greatest and most beneficial work will be conducted.