[Social Convenor]

Hello punters,
Lee Davidson from VUW has done research on why mountaineers do what they do. Seems that they’re not all thrill-seeking risk-takers, but I’m sure a few are.

A woman after my own heart, she’s selected chocolate biscuits for afters.

See you there
The Tea Lady

[stuart]

can you be more specific about what kind of chocolate biscuits they will be?

[Social Convenor]

No.

[stuart douce]

Tim tams are on special this week at new world and I know Glynne likes them too.

[Mike McGavin]

Well I found the talk last night to be really fascinating, but I found it especially interesting to hear how Lee’s interviewees had expressed some dissent towards those who climb mountains for reasons they saw as superficial. (eg. Just climbing a few peaks based on technical difficulty.)

To me it seems that the person who climbs a mountain for a superficial reason, whatever that might be, is a myth that’s construed by others. It made me wonder if there’s sometimes a misunderstanding between people about why others do similar things to themselves, and I was curious what that kind of person would have said if they were interviewed. Actually they possibly *were* interviewed, but maybe they introspectively had different motivations that weren’t well understood by someone else who observed them from outside.

Even our club’s affected by this sometimes, usually in ways that are more entertaining than anything else. Obviously people who do the fit-rated trips are missing all sorts of great tramping experiences along the way because they only ever eat raw carrots and they never stop to look closely at the plants, birds and spectacular views they’re walking through. Everyone who avoids fit trips lijke the plague knows the fit trip rule that you’re allowed to stop to vomit but then it’s your own responsibility to catch up with the rest of the group, and honestly what’s the point in exhausting yourself like that? Meanwhile the people who do the easier-rated trips waste so much of the day because everyone who never goes on them knows that they probably never get to the tops, only walk for 30 minutes and then laze around inside and do nothing for the whole afternoon.

I can’t think of a provocative way to criticise medium-rated trips. They’re far too average.

Mike.
(feels like provoking all the people who got to the chocolate biccies before he did)

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