Saturday, June 3, 2017

Selfishness and Passion...

A few days ago, I was watching yet another extreme skiing video shot in Chamonix, on Yeld Peak, next to the Dent du Géant, and ending into the Contamine couloir off l’aiguille de Blaitière.

A lady posted a comment about the whole mountain culture of pushing the envelope, saying:

“My thoughts are going to the moms that are scared to death each time their boys go out and ski. These steep slopes have made a quadriplegic out of my son and killed his friends, both being experts in their own right. I feel these clips are deceptive and make such descent appear easy. My grandkids are growing up without their dad. How do you explain to them that the passion for the mountain is stronger than the other side of life?”

Pretty strong words, indeed. The thought that immediately came to my mind is that in love, sailing, politics, mountaineering, skiing, or you name it, the most extreme passions are often fulled by blind selfishness.

 

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