Beyond dirtbagging: A sustainable future for climbers

This is what my club own.

'The Club owns several huts in Canterbury, which provide a good base for mountain activities. These are available either free of charge or at reduced rates for members.

Kennedy Lodge, Arthurs Pass | Wyn Irwin, Mt Cook | Cameron Hut | Banfield Hut | Lyell Hut | Barker Hut | Park Morpeth Hut | Waimak Falls Hut | Eric Bivvy and St Winifred's Hut at the head of the Havelock.

The CMC also has free access to Empress Hut on presentation of a valid membership card.

Club huts are primarily for Club Members but all mountain travellers are welcome.'

Morgan Patterson wrote: exactly... so why would you want anyone with a brain want religion fucking it up?

Dude! I'm not talking about cheap campgrounds I'm talking about a revolutionary change in lifestyle.

Yip mate, first you have to move out of your car.

“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism" - Chris Mccandless

People have created an idea of what success is and it usually involves an education, career and monetary possessions. These things do not bring happiness, yet people give up a large part of their life to chancing them. I applaud the idea, but just as the hipster movement in San Francisco fell apart, eventually human greed, drugs, and corruption will cause it to fail.

Nice post Keith. We could speculate about why this would fail but that's reinforcing our conditioning, no? Lots of things fall apart, that does not mean they failed. If you fall off a climb a few times does that mean you will never climb it? Do you give up hope and decide not to try it anymore?

Growing up with punk-rock I was led to believe the hippies failed and they failed because of being motivated by love. Punks thoughts it would take hate to make real change. Now I feel like the hippies were sucessful in starting something that was not meant for them to finish and love is by far the most powerful tool we have for change. Things take time and above all the belief that something is possible.

The Nearing's homestead is still going today, unaffected by all the things people here said would cause it to fail.

the spine of time is in the sky,
it's composed of fleeting water vapors.

right now, it is rigid and up-write,
authoring a valiant now
and an even braver future.

then those eroding winds of unsettled fluid
take change and
time limps with a bent backbone,
and then it is bed-ridden
as time's substance dissolves.

and now,
the wind settles down to rest,
and once again the ocean rises
to greet the sky
and organizes again into
a strong structure
and charges across
forever's landscape.

only to fall down again
when the wind
wakes up.

time and i, akin,
we share parallel victory
and quite consistent shame
upon our path to infinite nothing'z.

There are certain individuals in society that are successful in living a conservative life focused on their passion. Many people, including climbers, don't know what it is that wakes them up in the morning. As a race, humans are distracted by a flood of stimuli from the media and gadgets that serve as a distraction. Failure is not a reason to give up on the idea, but is there only to test mankind's resolve for something better. I have never understood why people complain about their jobs, yet continue to run the rat race, nor why people confuse fun with happiness. A truly happy life comes from love, serving others and understanding that humans have a spiritual need.

I'm not sure how many people the Nearings had living on their homestead or if it was just Scott and his wife, but any collection of human beings trying to live together will inevitably result in power struggles, hierarchies, etc..Not that this is all bad, sometimes a hierarchy is necessary to ensure that decisions are made quickly and carried out efficiently.

Based on this quote from his Wikipedia article, I would say Scott Nearing had a much more nuanced and realistic assessment of human nature than you Poopy.

The tension between the dissident individual and the group was an unenviable one, Nearing believed. In the conflict between the solitary individual and the community, Nearing saw only three possible outcomes:
"(1) The individual may win out and impose himself and his ideas upon the group. The normal consequence of such an outcome is a personal dictatorship or the imposition upon the community of an oligarchy in which the dissident individual or individuals play a prominent role. (2) The division of the community into factions, one of which upholds the dissident individual, with a stalemate leading to feuding, rebellion, civil war. (3) The group wins out, imposes its will and eliminates the non-conformist. Such conflict sequences have occurred repeatedly in contemporary and in earlier history."

Ramen, a few eggs and a banana, bring on the dirtbag life. The monkeys are sendin

I wonder how the Amish have been doing it all these years?

In order to live in harmony with others one must take a hard, honest look at themselves. They must develop qualities such as compassion and generosity. They must understand the connection between themselves and the rest of creation. They must let go of fear and desire, learning to live from the heart. They must develop a real sense of themselves that is not dependent on circumstance.

The collective human conscience is evolving. Our lifestyle is evolving as well. It must or we will perish as a species. All we can do is bring the awareness inward. Be the best version of ourselves that we can be. Strive for change and accept reality. Try to make better knowing it will never be perfect.

Yep, no power struggles or hierarchies in the Amish community at all.

nytimes.com/2012/09/21/us/j…

I'm sure Amish husbands are exactly equal in power to their wives within their families too lol

I can only imagine the drama that will go on in a community with 10 to 1 man to female ratio. I think you can sustain it for some time by proposing hollywood makes a reality tv show out of it. Bunch of fit dudes living in yosemite, taking 60 foot whips running the PDL to impress a few hairy gals. Id be psyched to watch!