I met a lady who was once a mountaineer and active member of one well known mountaineering group in their school on my trip back from Manila, . I can feel the excitement she had while narrating memories of her trekking adventures before. Then her mood changed to sadness when she told me the reason why she stopped scaling up mountains with her group and getting “one” with nature. Some “climber wannabes” she tells, troop to the mountains simply because of free booze and sex. And these irritates her most.
I was dumbfounded hearing her lamentations, and was even first to parry such shameful generalizations when I regained my composure. I must admit though, there are a few among us who fall for these “tempting” practices in one way or another. And we are not talking of the illegal flesh trade that is rampant in the jungles of the city skirts.
I am no saint and neither do I claim to be a moral purist aiming to purge the current milieu of outdoor enthusiast . Indeed the types of people getting into this hobby are so diverse we can never stereotype them into just one crop of eccentric naturalists or ego maniacal sexists. Nonetheless, the underlying reasons for such devotion to the mountain cause may range from purely esoteric or overtly exotic. Alcohol and sex, definitely has creep into the allure of “freedom in the mountains”. Something we can only hear in the whispers of the tree leaves and whistle blowers of the moonlight.
The only advice I can give to trekkers wannabes- choose well your climbing companions. If you don’t like your company because of conflicts in beliefs and values, you’re free to avoid them. Responsible mountaineering is a personal matter, and not left to the mercy of prodigious associations.
