Michael, thanks for the time you put into this. When reflecting on your closing paragraphs, I would add from personal experience that unless the outing is done solo, then the motivation for the alpine start comes primarily from the "who I'm with" side of things.
I've found the drive to spend time in the mountains alone to be rooted in the "what I'm experiencing" side of things, specifically in the desire to manage risk and make decisions during an outing with a complex (yet appropriate) hazard profile and significantly smaller margins for error than would exist in a group. It's challenging, empowering, and there's a certain high that comes from intentionally maintaining your desired distance from the metaphorical "edge". However, when I'm pondering an alpine start with a group, regardless of the objective (and sometimes the quality of sleep that I got the night before), my feelings and motivation early in the morning are primarily driven by the interpersonal interactions that I expect for the day. A day with close friends and partners is much easier to stomach than one with a group or partner that has presented as challenging in the past/on preceding days of a trip. In the latter case, I've found that extrinsic factors (financial, or professional development) oftentimes drive my subdued enthusiasm at zero dark thirty.
There are numerous confounding factors that go into this early morning temperament: temperature, snow/ice/rock quality, objective type/difficulty, discipline of activity, aesthetic considerations, hazard, fatigue, burnout, etc... but I always find it to be a fascinating exercise to pick apart the motivations that drive myself and others into the hills. Are our motivations, while inherently slightly self-centered, pushing us to grow, build resilience, and return home rejuvenated and able to carry these lessons learned from the mountains into our every day lives? Or are they governed by a desire to go further, faster, higher, and "better" in a way that causes us to accept excessive risk and could end catastrophically? I personally believe that for every person, it depends on the day. I'd be keen to hear your thoughts on this, ideally over a beer :).
A lot to examine. All these points are taken well coming from you Ian, no stranger to the alpine start. Looking forward to the beer and the discussion perhaps followed by an early morning adventure.
Michael, thanks for the time you put into this. When reflecting on your closing paragraphs, I would add from personal experience that unless the outing is done solo, then the motivation for the alpine start comes primarily from the "who I'm with" side of things.
I've found the drive to spend time in the mountains alone to be rooted in the "what I'm experiencing" side of things, specifically in the desire to manage risk and make decisions during an outing with a complex (yet appropriate) hazard profile and significantly smaller margins for error than would exist in a group. It's challenging, empowering, and there's a certain high that comes from intentionally maintaining your desired distance from the metaphorical "edge". However, when I'm pondering an alpine start with a group, regardless of the objective (and sometimes the quality of sleep that I got the night before), my feelings and motivation early in the morning are primarily driven by the interpersonal interactions that I expect for the day. A day with close friends and partners is much easier to stomach than one with a group or partner that has presented as challenging in the past/on preceding days of a trip. In the latter case, I've found that extrinsic factors (financial, or professional development) oftentimes drive my subdued enthusiasm at zero dark thirty.
There are numerous confounding factors that go into this early morning temperament: temperature, snow/ice/rock quality, objective type/difficulty, discipline of activity, aesthetic considerations, hazard, fatigue, burnout, etc... but I always find it to be a fascinating exercise to pick apart the motivations that drive myself and others into the hills. Are our motivations, while inherently slightly self-centered, pushing us to grow, build resilience, and return home rejuvenated and able to carry these lessons learned from the mountains into our every day lives? Or are they governed by a desire to go further, faster, higher, and "better" in a way that causes us to accept excessive risk and could end catastrophically? I personally believe that for every person, it depends on the day. I'd be keen to hear your thoughts on this, ideally over a beer :).
A lot to examine. All these points are taken well coming from you Ian, no stranger to the alpine start. Looking forward to the beer and the discussion perhaps followed by an early morning adventure.
Class, brilliance, and mmm
Great job! You could write a book one day!
Painted a great picture with those words Ole Buddy!