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How High is Gompei?
June 30, 2021
Andy Butler
Editor s note: This story is one of a periodic series of submissions from faculty and staff reflecting on adventures with Gompei. If you ve got a tale to tell, email dailyherd@wpi.edu.
Gompei on the Go
As the world starts to emerge from the pandemic and travel opportunities open up a bit, it’s nice to see members of the WPI community including Gompei! getting out and about. Through travel even local day trips we can relax and recharge, change our perspective, or simply enjoy different scenery. If you’ve got photos or a short story about a trip you’ve taken with Gompei this summer, let us know; we may run it in the Herd. Read about Gompei’s trip with John MacDonald and Andy Butler to the top of the continent.
The tools of the modern alpinist have changed so much over the past 40 years that many are unrecognizable when compared with the objects that they evolved from. Waffled polyester has replaced wool, bent shaft carbon fiber ice tools are used in the stead of steel axes, and colorful camming devices are placed gently into granite cracks where the scars from hammered metal wedges still linger.
But there is one ingredient to a successful ascent that is more important than any specialized tool: an idea. The idea that the physical exhaustion, psychological turmoil and inherent risk encountered on an ascent are worth overcoming. The idea that the experience has intrinsic value.