I now know I can do most anything I set as a goal in life
(Tina Sjogren) First he would hike. Then he tried a small peak. From the top he spotted Everest. Then he became an Everest summiteer. And bagged Manaslu. He started an Everest blog for regular people. And just like that he had climbed K2. Now he wants them all.
Alan Arnette’s story resembles that of a new bunch of mountaineers currently touring the Himalayan giants. They use infrastructure without apology, catching flak from media and alpinists who believe peaks should be scaled without support, via new routes, or at least without supplementary oxygen at a minimum.
An interesting thing about the new generation is that they are no kids at all – in their 40s-60s many are also relative late-comers to Himalaya. They seem to walk a different edge: At a time in life when most people (and mountaineers) retire in comfort or start the countdown – these sky riders drove in at sunset and show no intention to hang up their spurs.
