Touching the Void

1. What types of goals are involved with climbing this mountain?

The goals used in climbing the mountain were both short term and long term goals. Simon and Joe had the long term goal of climbing a mountain that no one had ever climbed before. They will have had this goal for months before they actually started the climb, while they were preparing and training. The mountain climb also involves a whole bunch of short term goals. For instance, where they are going to get by the end of the day, that they are not going to get injured during the days climb or that they are going to melt 3 cups of water. All these goals lead up to the end result of actually climbing the mountain.

2.What types of goals are involved in Joe's decent?

The goals in Joe's decent are mostly short term goals. He would make goals of getting to a certain rock or piece of ice in 20 minutes or half and hour. For the short period of time he would push himself to reach his goal. There was of course his ultimate goal of reaching the bottom of the mountain and the base camp as well. Joe never would have made it that far if he hadn't set all his short term goals of reaching a different spot every few minutes.

3. Would you have cut the rope? Why or why not?

I think I probably would have cut the rope. I could sit here and tell you that I would be decent and die with him/her but I don't think that is the truth. I know I sound horrible when I say that I would cut them off but in a dire situation like that I might just do it. After about 5 days of climbing and facing minus 80 degree weather I wouldn't be thinking straight either. I would probably assume that my partner was dead and wouldn't be able to think of the consequences of cutting them off. I wouldn't realize how horrible it would be to face their family after the fact and how awful it would be to have to live the rest of my life knowing that I almost defiantly killing one of my friends. Sitting here with a clear mind and thinking straight I would never cut my friends off but on a mountain, in minus 80 degree weather and not thinking straight I probably would have done the same thing as Simon.

4. Look at the statements made by Joe below. What truth about life does each hold? Feel free to use scenarios to help explain your answers.

a) "What I had to deal/face with was so big I could not deal with it."

This statement made by Joe is very true about life. In life there will be situations where what you are dealing with is just too much for you to handle, life is always going to throw you huge challenges that you need to learn to overcome. Whether it was the lose of a loved one and a disaster in their home or personal life these times normally leave people feeling completely overwhelmed.

b) "I had to keep making decisions whether they were right or wrong."

This statement talks about how no matter how your life is going you have to keep making decisions to keep you life moving forward. Whether your choice is a good or a bad one, it is still better then being indecisive and not moving forward.

c) "I was so scared of going deeper but I had to do something."

This statement talks about making hard decisions in your life. Making a big change is always hard but you have to keep moving forward, you can't just sit still in the same place forever and not accomplish anything. For example, going to university may be a huge change and you have no idea how it will turn out. You have to go for this change though because you can't live at home forever and you hope that in the end university will help your life move forward.

d) "I couldn't blindly hope things would get better."

This statement talks about how you can't just hope things in your life will just fix themselves. If there is something that you aren't happy with then you need to figure out how you can change that part of your life and fix it. You need to plan out how you are going to make a change for the better and improve the thing that you aren't happy with. Also, you can't expect someone else to be there to fix it for you. As a kid there is normally someone there to help fix whatever problem you may have but as you grow up, they all become consumed in their own problems as well. You have to learn to deal with your own problems because there will no longer be someone there to fix them for you and they won't just fix themselves.

5. Why is climbing a mountain used as a metaphor to describe life?

Climbing a mountain is used as a metaphor to describe life because they are similar in many ways. First, they both have their up and downs, mountains, of course have tons of little ridges and crevices, and life, has many good and bad things to throw at you. Second, both are unpredictable, mountains are wild places where you don't always know what will be around the next corner, life is the same way. Last, both mountains and life are hard on the way up and harder on the way down. On a mountain climb, you start with an easy hike to the base camp, you start your climb and you think that it is the hardest thing. Then you start your descent. As Simon said, "90% of mountain accidents happen on the way down." The climb down if the hardest part. When you finally arrive at the base camp you are exhausted and most likely injured or sick. The final hike down from the base camp is long and slow, and then your climb is done. Life is the same way. You start of with a few easy years, your childhood, where you don't have all the worries or stresses of adulthood. As you start elementary school and high school, this is like the climb up the mountain. You think it's hard and though but you haven't seen what the real world is like. You get your experience in the real world as an adult on the climb down. This is the hardest part of life. You have your job and maybe a family to take care of and you need to balance it all to make sure you don't fall. Finally you most likely retire as you grow older. This is you back at the base camp of your mountain of life. You are probably not in the best shape at this point and you take a while to get back to where you started at the beginning.

6. Even the best laid educational or career plans can come to a disastrous end. What do you have to do to ensure your career plans don't die on the mountain of life?

To avoid a disaster in your career plans you need to be prepared for anything. As long as you continue to set goals in your career and you plan your future well enough you will have done just about everything that you can do to prepare yourself for what is to come. If something does happen that you weren't planning on you just need to react the best you can. Just like the laws of physics, for every action that life and fate throws you, you need to have a equal or greater reaction to that to keep your life and career goals on track.