Lowe, Legends, and Kings

Last night while doing homework I was randomly inspired to research the wily and wild life of the late Alex Lowe, a climber and mountaineer I had heard about over the years. He was brought to my recent attention during a lecture by Conrad Anker, his long-time friend and fellow climber. Anker, who is now married to Lowe's widow, did not mention his fallen friend while he was painting the pictures of his mountain adventures to the packed audience. Lowe is definitely a man worth mentioning. As fascinating as he is spirited, he propelled himself up dangerous peaks and memorable climbs, never losing his desire for the inhospitable climate of the mountains.

Alex Lowe lost his life in October, 1999, on the mountain of Shishapangma in Tibet. He was buried under an avalanche along with high-altitude cameraman David Bridges. The other member of the trio, the aforementioned Conrad Anker, miraculously survived the barrage, but was unable to locate the bodies of his friends buried underneath the snow. Interestingly, Anker would go on to marry Lowe's widow. My initial reaction is that the situation is very strange and uneasy. How could Anker marry his friend's widow? But maybe Lowe would have wanted it that way.



Due to the events on Shishapangma and dozens of other tragedies, many people are of the opinion that climbers and mountaineers are reckless and stupid, attempting feats that are better left undone. "Why be a miserable on a mountain when you are comfortable in your own bed?" They might say. But that is the essence of the human spirit, I would argue. To achieve the impossible, to push farther and higher than ever before, to discover the unknown and discover the meaning that lies beneath it all. The human race climbs because there will always be a man who sees a mountain, steps forward and says: "I can do that." Is that the only reason? Maybe.



Lowe was the epitomy of this ideal, striving not to be the "world's best climber" but to climb because he couldn't stay away. "The best climber is the one having the most fun!" He would say. His life was filled with colorful adventure, from a famous rescue on Denali to an ice-climbing accident in Montana that left him looking like "a mangled victim in a Wes Craven movie." His philosophy may have been best shown by his favorite quote from Helen Keller:

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all."

Alex Lowe 1958-1999


A quick word about music.

One of my favorites, Kings of Convenience, with some beautiful songs.






Next Post:

Music is back! The much-awaited next entry will be of the most awesome nature and will concern itself with the wild world of movie music!

A Weekend Outdoors

This past weekend, I had the chance to travel to North Carolina with some friends and camp. There wasn't much of a plan, but we wanted it that way. Whatever caught our fancy we would pursue, whether it was hiking, climbing, swimming or eating.

We ended up doing a little bit of everything. Our main destination ended up being the beautiful Linville Gorge, a wilderness area not a far cry from the little town of Marion, NC. After a quick stop for grub in Asheville and getting lost many times, we finally found a campsite deep in the woods at around midnight and went to sleep.

The next day was epic. We explored the climbing areas around Table Rock and Linville Gorge, mostly composed of gigantic multi-pitch climbs, not exactly my forte. We met some crazy people from around the Southeast, and I was quite surprised to find Santa Claus roping up on some of the bigger climbs that day. I hope he thought I was nice.



The rest of the day included a gorgeous ridge hike in the gorge and some meager rations for dinner. Basically we ate ramen, soup, and beans. The planning for the trip was sub-par. The night ended with a humongous fire that burnt some holes in my pants and some great stories.

On Sunday we finished the trip with a vigorous hike up Mt. Mitchell (even though you can drive to the top) and a quest to find an asian buffet where we could stuff our faces. We found it in Asian Grand Buffet, emphasis on the "grand". I filled up on ridiculous amounts of sushi, lo-mein, and soft-serve. I'm not the biggest buffet fan, but on that day I was happy. And very, very full.

And if I haven't bored you to death, here's some music...

Pigeon John: Before We're Gone



Sondre Lerche: Heartbeat Radio

Climbing to the Stars

This past weekend I went on a climbing trip with some friends. We traveled on friday to the crags of Obed located in Wartburg, Tenn., about an hour and a half away from Knoxville. After climbing all day Friday and Saturday, I was exhausted. To be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with climbing. Sometimes it feels great to be on the rock, even on the sharp end. Other times, though, I hate it. At that point all I want below my feet is solid ground, often trying to climb a route while suffering from "elvis leg" (uncontrollable shaking). At least I got some practice on my dance moves.

Climbing is something that fascinates me, though. The inner desire of people to climb up rocks, sometimes thousands of feet tall and ridiculously dangerous, is extremely interesting. What kind of passion inspires these kinds of people to put themselves through hell and back just to accomplish the seemingly impossible, defying logic and gravity? Why do they climb? John Long, a prolific climber and author, offers up some of the best explanations I have read. He explains that climbing can fill you with the most intimate feelings of fear and exhilaration, giving you moments that you will never forget. And times where you find out the person you really are. Nothing is fake on the side of sheer rock. It's just you.



Here's some music:

Great remix of the Bee Gees. It's okay, you can admit that you like them.

A Heart Full of Holes

That picture reminds me of something that I started back in my sophomore year of college. It was called "Mark Knopfler Mondays", and consisted of dressing like Mark Knopfler on every monday, no matter where you went. This usually consisted of wearing something 80's like a tank top and jeans. The key item, though, was the sweatband that he consistently rocked during his concerts. I got some friends into this, and we definitely got some weird looks while we were wearing our head bands around campus.

I recently acquired one of Knopfler's solo albums, Kill to Get Crimson.
My favorites are:
True Love Will Never Fade
Heart Full of Holes
Secondary Waltz



Another classic song from Bobby Womack:
Across 110th Street





Also check out the new band Highlife and album Best Bless (album cover above)

Next post will focus on some outdoor adventures, with a guest appearance by Mitch

Yikes!