A Brief Chat with Ed (Hardwear Sessions)

Ed Viesturs took a break from headlining the Sharp End Tour to talk with us over the telephone. Ed discusses his recent trip to Baffin Island, with Will Steger's Global Warming 101 project, outlines his plans for 2008, shares his thoughts on mountaineering's future, and looks back on his relationship with Mountain Hardwear.

When we spoke with Ed, he had just wrapped up a talk in Eugene, Oregon.

How was your talk at the University of Oregon?

It went really well. It was really good. The room was full, there were 300 or so people, a mixed audience of students and adults. Afterwards we stayed and signed posters.

You must be tired.

Oh no, this was just one lecture. This was easy.

How would you describe the audience? Were there a lot of mountaineers, people who are practitioners, or were the group more skewed towards listeners?

Again, the audience was a mixed bag of climbers, mountaineers, other outdoorsy types, and people who are sort of armchair travelers. People read the books, like Into Thin Air, and they find themselves drawn into this subject, and excited by the adventure in these books, so they come for the images and they want to hear about the experiences.

I also see these talks as a kind of payback, you know, for the support that Mountain Hardwear has given me through all these years.

Let's talk about your recent trip to Baffin Island. How did you become involved with the group? What drew you to this endeavor?

I was in LA about a year ago, and I was at a dinner organized by a friend. One person there was a film producer, and she was involved with the documentary portion of the project. She asked me what I would be doing in the spring, and if I was free, would I like to join the expedition? I said yes, just like that. It was something new and interesting. I thought, yeah, if they want me to come, I'll come. I knew a little about the trip, I had heard about the people involved, like Will Steger, and we already knew that Richard Branson would be involved.

When I arrived, the team had already been on the island for two months. I joined them in their last month. We did an overland traverse of the island. We had just phenomenal weather. We didn't have any storms. It was cold, but perfect. It was what we call "traveling weather." We really got lucky. Before we arrived, the team really suffered through some horrendous weather.

We traveled over sea ice in some parts, through spectacular frozen fjords with towering rocks.

And did you see any evidence of global warming?

I really didn't see, or feel, anything that would point to global warming. I didn't stay for very long.

You have to live there year after year to see the changes, and that was part of the point of this trip, to interview the Inuit elders, people who have lived there for a long time and can share their observations. They definitely tell us that things are changing. Their testimony lets us deduct that something is happening, that what we do down here affects what goes on up there. And as we know more, we can do something about it, change our ways.

Were you always interested in the Arctic?

Oh yeah. As a kid I read all the stories of the Arctic explorers, even before I became interested in mountaineering. I guess you could say that I really gained, from these stories, a sense of adventure, or an idea of what it might be like, to go on these adventures.

Would you say that this is something that takes you full circle, to what led you to mountaineering in the first place?

Yeah, I suppose you could say that. I'm already planning more Pole trips. For the next one, we're going to do it without dog sleds. We're going to pull our own equipment on sleds.

Would you say that this is an extension of the mountaineering approach, the fast and light approach, to polar adventures?

This style is what they call "unsupported," from point A to point B there will be no equipment drops, just what we pull on our sleds. And for a lengthy expedition, each man can be pulling something like 200 lbs. But yeah, in a way, it is something like bringing a mountaineering ethic into the practice. Everything is very minimal.

Was Baffin Island very different from what you expected?

I had no idea what it would be like. The whole new part, for me, was working with the dog sleds. I had never done that before. I've been on many expeditions where I've been a leader, and been in a position of authority and responsibility. Here, I was the worker and the student, so it was all great fun. I had no great responsibilities. I was just there to learn. After a few days of training, they let me go off and handle a dog-sled on my own. It was that kind of environment.

This spring, John Stepson and I have plans to go to Ellesmere Island, an island even further north than Baffin, to do a 200 mile traverse of the ice cap.

So it sounds like you've really gotten hooked on the Arctic.

Oh yeah. I'd love to return to the Poles, either the Antarctic or the Arctic, and do more.

Any mountaineering plans in the near future?

I have some possible plans, but nothing definite. I might do something with David Breashears, or with my partner, Veikka Gustafsson, once he wraps up his latest project, so this summer, maybe? I certainly wouldn't rule out further mountaineering projects, but right now I'm focused on this Ellesmere Island project.

Ellesmere Island is really something of a training trip, to get to know the system, learn what works and what doesn't, in that environment, in preparation for a longer future trip. This one is really a three-week long shakedown.

Let's talk a little bit about the field of mountaineering today. How have things changed, since you began your career as a mountaineer? Where do you think the field is going?

The field is going in several different directions.

There's still a group of people like me, who continue to climb 8000 m peaks without oxygen.

I would say that commercial guiding has really grown, and become a part of the field. Some people say that's bad, but I don't say that's bad. Guide services give people the opportunity to experience these peaks. People are seeking adventure. You have kayak guides, trekking guides, why not climbing guides?

Again, though, people are learning that it doesn't have to be a crowded experience, it doesn't have to be the base camp at Everest. You can escape the crowds.

Now people are starting to approach the mountains in small, small teams. Now you see these very compact and efficient teams tackling big, big peaks. Fast and light, minimal, without lots of gear or people, that's really become the way to go, and that is the fun way to go. That way, you're not bogged down with logistics. Once you get there, you can start doing immediately what you're there to do.

And I think that's really where equipment is going, as well, and it certainly is the direction that I take, when I am involved.

Some try to make a statement by choosing to tackle dangerous routes in this minimal manner. Sometimes, it seems like they are pushing the envelope in the wrong direction, putting themselves in immense danger... You see them choose these harrowing routes, and when you do a climb, there's plenty of glory involved, but when you don't make it...

I mean, to each his own, but there are climbers out there doing some scary things. And most of these routes are so difficult, and dangerous, that they will never be repeated.

It's important to realize that this doesn't have to be the only way.

OK, we've been curious about this for a while. How did you get involved with the Hidden Expedition: Everest video game?

Oh, well, my neighbor started a company called Big Fish Games. The company had already started working on this game, a mixture of the Amazing Race and Clue or Quiz type of game, where you search for cached clues. The game had an Everest theme. My neighbor asked me if I would be willing to come in and help them with the design. So I went and I worked with the designers, to show them how the game can work with real mountain images, give them a bit of real world background. And when you play the game, you'll see that some of the cached clues are my kids' faces. I'm not a gamer, but the experience was fun.

And do your kids enjoy playing the game?

Oh yeah, but I think this game is really for an older audience. Online gaming is a big business now, and Big Fish is one of the leaders. This game is really for that certain group, older players who enjoy that experience.

In the game, you wear that wonderful chef's outfit.

I don't know where that came from! I guess that's just how they saw me, because, you know, in real life I'm really not that big of a cook. That's not what I actually do. On a climb, up at camp, I'll boil some water or something, and I can fry some potatoes, but that's about it.

Let's talk about your involvement with Mountain Hardwear. How did you get started?

Ian Cumming was one of the founding investors and his son John was on the Board. John knew me from guiding on Rainier. At that point, I had already started the Endeavor 8000 project, which was, financially, a nightmare. John suggested that Mountain Hardwear should sponsor me.

That was really a turning point in my career. I was going through some doubts about the whole thing. I thought, I can't support myself, I can't make a living...

I always say that John Cumming was like my savior. The company's support allowed me to go on and do what I wanted to do. So I've been with the company from the earliest days, we've kind of grown together. Mountain Hardwear is like my family.

I also became involved with the products, and design. They always said to me, "Ed, here's what we have, but tell us what you want." The Powerstretch suit came out of that, and the EV tents. They learn something by making that product [that I want]. Sometimes they'll just one for me, but other times they'll actually manufacture it, and see it perform well in the line.

I enjoy it, too, because the design process is very interactive. You do get to tweak, change and add, and see your design go out there in the world.

Mountain Hardwear really listens to the athletes, and I do think that's why the company is so innovative. We're really more like than consultants than sponsored athletes.

One last question before I let you go. What possessed you to take your 200th trip up Rainier this year?

I've been guiding on Rainier since 1982, and as a guide you rack up some climbs. This really wasn't something that was preplanned. Every year, I work with Peter Whittaker to offer the Viesturs-Whittaker climb. It allows people to come and have the chance to climb with me. This year, we just happened to do the 199 and 200th trips.

Now I tell people that I'm good. I've passed that magic number, and now I'm good.