But Anker grew up looking forward to spending 18 days on a mountainside with 10 days of food. At a Wednesday night talk to a couple of hundred outdoors enthusiasts, he reminded them of an old Buddhist proverb: Enlightenment doesn't come on a full stomach.
It does seep in when you're doing things like climbing around Mount Everest in a felt fedora and silk shirt like George Mallory did in 1924. Anker was on the team that searched for and found Mallory's remains on the world's tallest mountain in 1999. He later tried making the climb using the same gentleman's hiking gear and primitive oxygen tanks that his hero took.
“Getting scared is a good thing,” Anker said. “When you see a grizzly bear, the adrenaline courses through your body. You're not going to get that playing Nintendo.”
While it's true that most of the world's mountains have been climbed and its dark corners have been explored, Anker said that's no excuse to forsake the outdoors. As he's gotten older, he said one of his fascinations is repeating favorite adventures to see how his body and perspective have changed.
Anker's wife Jennifer Lowe-Anker is also in town for this weekend's Montana Festival of the Book, where she's discussing her memoir of life with fellow Montana climber Alex Lowe. Lowe pioneered rock climbing routes from the Bitterroot's Blodgett Canyon to the Himalayas before he was killed in an avalanche in 1999 on an expedition with Anker.
In “Forget Me Not,” Lowe-Anker recalls Alex's climbing enthusiasm and her efforts to memorialize that by founding the Kumbu Climbing School. It teaches residents around the Himalayas essential guiding skills like ropework, first aid, English and other talents that make them more successful in the region's mountain tourism business.
“Our careers were created on the backs of these people,” Conrad said. “So far, we've had 400 graduates.”
Anker has spent 25 years representing North Face, the outdoor gear and clothing manufacturer. He said one of the company's biggest challenges is to remain “authentic,” meaning it makes mountain-sport stuff, as opposed to lifestyle stuff.
That's important as people seek more of their outdoor experience indoors around the television. Anker said the hidden message in his adventure talks was a push for others to have their own adventures.
“We have a nature deficit,” he said. “Kids don't make tree forts and dam creeks and float sticks. We're getting to be such a risk-averse society. There's railings all over the national parks. We should accept more risk.”
Reporter Rob Chaney can be reached at 523-5382 or at rchaney@missoulian.com.
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)