The Yin and Yang of Climbers

1/17/10 Rest Day.
There are two kinds of Climbers you will find on any major mountain, and they can be separated by a single question; "would you be here if there were no chance of summitting?"
Those who answer "yes" are Mountain Lovers. They enjoy just being in the mountains and don´t seem at all troubled by the discomforts which accompany it. To be certain, they like to summit. But, as doing so signals the end of the fun, the Mountain Lovers summit with a bit of sadness in their hearts.
Those who answer the question "no" are probably goal oriented individuals. Typically these Mountaineers took up climbing later in life and see the IDEA of having summitted a major peak as perhaps having greater value than the experience itself. It is the answer to some call, the punctuation mark accompanying a personal weigh point, or the stone pathway to quiet satisfaction in later years. In the eyes of Mountain Lovers, the Seven Summiter is the worst of these, checking off items on a shopping list, picking ripe fruit without regard for the amazing tree from which it comes.
Ty is the former, and I the later. Together we form the Yin and Yang of climbing, both respecting each other´s place though experiencing the climb from very different perspectives.
As we talk to other Climbers it becomes quickly apparent which is which. Every Guide I have ever met is a Yin, a Mountain Lover. It is perhaps because of this special relationship they have with the mountain that nothing will get under their skin faster than a Yang who speaks honestly. As such, and owing to my overriding desire to get along with everyone, I choose to be a closeted Yang.
Ty and I were talking with a Guide (a super great guy) yesterday about another climbing company. "Yeah, they get a lot of Seven Sumitters, " he commented with a note of palpable disdain. I was glad to remain in my closet and Ty did not give me up. But I was outed later the same day at dinner with that Guide and his group. The topic of Seven Sumitters came up as we gathered in our dinning tent. "Dave here is a Seven Summitter," Brian said. Then adding "he just doesn`t know it."
This much may be true. Though I am asked often if the seven summits are my ambition I always demure. I do this in part because I want to experience each climb as a special chapter in my life, as opposed to a chapter in a book that has no value unless completed. Yet, to be certain, if there were no chance of summitting I would never leave home.
In the end the Yins need the Yangs, their numbers comprising the greatest portion of clients paying the substantial fees that make commercial expeditions possible. The Yangs, in turn, need the Yins to derive greater now from an experience that will forevermore be a then.