3 Dudes Went on a Rock Climbing Expedition to The Sahara Desert, and Look What They Talked About.
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- by Mark Stephens on Mon Jun 27, 2011 - Add comment
What makes this video so perfect for AdventureParents.com isn't that it's a superb adventure story enlivened by non-stereotypical rock climbing action and the thrill of getting to it. Yes, this short captivates your attention in the first minute, don't worry. But watch for the thread that runs in and out of it on growing up, having a family of your own, all that mental clarity you had when you were young, and what those things mean to your approach to adventure of any sort nowadays.
The thing is, you see, you can take three serious rock climbers (Mark Synnott, Alex Honnold, and James Pearson) of varying ages and backgrounds to the opposite side of the planet, pack them into a small convoy of crusty Land Rovers and point them into the south eastern part of the Sahara Desert, a region called Ennedi in the country of Chad, for an 800-kilometer drive across roadless desert where they'll attempt to make incredible first ascents up some wicked rock towers, and guess what? Right, it'll be a seriously amazing, sick adventure composed with interesting cinematography and storytelling. But that's expected, right? Take the armchair and enjoy.
Equally significant, the subjects still come around and talk about aging, and family, and how those things paint adventure with a different brush. You'll get a taste of it just before the 5:00 mark with Mark Synnott, so watch this one for two reasons: first, it's a well-crafted and fantastic adventure story because the boys are multi-dimensional; second, maybe you'll see the family topic thread in here as a subtle statement that just because you, the parent, take fewer risks, doesn't mean you're less dimensional. Or boring. Maybe parents shouldn't have fewer dimensions because someone is depending on them, but more.
Mark Synnott, the 40 year old father/husband climber (and driving force) in this film, admits he refused to participate on particularly sketchy route, not even willing to belay the other climbers. But even more important, he says at the end, "I'd be really psyched to explore some more around here" he says. "I'm really looking forward to coming back here someday. It's gonna happen." And then he finishes it off with the whipped cream of a goofy grin only parents can relate to, "Maybe I'll come back here with my family." And you get the idea he's absolutely serious about that.
James Pearson tells us, "Climbing with Mark has been really good for me. Sometimes I get carried away on the rock, which is great when you can have people like Mark who can kind of rein me back in a little bit. His career's been super long, so he's doing something right. These are all things I'd really like to emulate."
On the flip side, Alex Honnold compares his own climbing to Synnott's, " . . . to me it's more about like physical achievement. You know, I like doing these little adventures from time to time, but I definitely don't fantasize about it the way Mark does."
See the twist? Perhaps when you have small army of your own that you're in charge of raising you get more stoked than ever for some tasty outdoor adventure.
I have to tip the hat to Adventure Journal, where I found this in my feed this morning.
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