Man and Mountains - A Lesson in Leadership

What prompts a person to look up at the imposing face of a mountain and say “I can climb that.”? What motivates someone to put their life at risk just to say “I climbed that mountain.”? Canadian history tells of a group of men building the Canadian Pacific Railroad through the Rockies daring the Chinese cook, Ha Ling, to climb a certain mountain outside their Canmore location and be back in town in less than ten hours. He made the trip in five and a half hours, and the peak was then known for many years as Chinaman’s Peak. In the 1990’s a group suggested the term “Chinaman” was derogatory, and in 1997, it was renamed “Ha Ling Peak.” The mountain is shown here to the left. No one has suggested “Scotsman’s Hill” should be renamed, but I digress.

Sir Edmund Hillary, the man credited with the first successful climb of Mount Everest, said “You don’t climb a mountain for science. Science is used to raise money for the expeditions, but you really climb for the hell of it.” British mountaineer George Leigh Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, and replied, 'Because it's there'. The answer became famous, partly because Mallory and his climbing companion would become lost on Everest the next year, and their bodies would rest in Everest’s arms for 75 years. The poet Robert W. Service wrote:

Why seek to scale Mount Everest, Queen of the Air, Why strive to crown that cruel crest And deathward dare? Said Mallory of dauntless quest `Because it's there.'

Man has always fought to conquer his surroundings. Whether it’s climbing a mountain just to prove you can, or to build commercial links of highways and railroads through the rock, man has always strived to get the better of physical barricades. For that reason, we often attach two images to mountains: One, they are obstacles meant to be climbed. Our victory over them is a victory over self. And two, they represent the top, the peak, the apex of accomplishment. If you have been to the top of the mountain, then you have reached the highest level possible.

Let’s look at that from a corporate viewpoint. There are many who want to reach the top of their corporation or their industry. Some complain of a “glass ceiling”, an unseen barricade to breaking through to the top because of gender, race or some other distinguishing feature. And in any industry, there are those who don’t want to reach the top, but are content to get to a certain level and say “That’s enough”. Unfortunately, there are also those that want to join the team but don’t want to make much or any effort to climb any higher than they started. The climb to the corporate mountaintop can be fraught with perils, slips and falls, and even corporate death. Just ask Carly Fiorina.

At 29,028 feet above sea level, Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. That makes it the greatest challenge for mountain climbers. I’m told it isn’t the most difficult climb, technically. But Everest is guarded by a fortress of nature’s defenses. Temperatures that reach between -40 and -90 degrees F. with winds reaching 140 MPH. Base Camp at 18,000 feet is higher than any civilized settlement in the world. Above 20,000 feet, the body begins to deteriorate and feed upon itself, making it a challenge just to support life.

And if that isn’t enough, the entrance to the mountain is guarded by a sea of seracs and crevasses known as the Khumbu Icefall, 1800 vertical feet of constantly shifting ice blocks the size of houses – or as Canadian Dave Read said, as he saw one of those blocks crashing toward him, “…the size of rail cars.”

I have a fascination with mountains. I’m certainly not a mountain climber. I am fascinated with their beauty, their majesty, and their power. It’s the one thing I miss in Florida. The highest point in Florida is a mere 345 feet above sea level. There are building higher than that. Once I was specing new trucks for an employer in Ohio, and one of the drivers told me he felt we should have more power so he could handle the “mountains” of Ohio. I laughed. “Mountains? You don’t have mountains in Ohio” I said. He was a bit offended. Ohio born and raised, he felt the hills of Holmes County were mountains to him. His viewpoint was the 1,549 foot Campbell Hill (see, it’s called a hill). My viewpoint was the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, where Mount Columbia rises 12,293 feet. That’s a mountain.

Let me summarize my ramblings on this first mountain post. First, we have different perceptions of what our mountains are, or what is challenging to us. What is a mountain to me might only be a hill to you. We also have differing goals – some want to climb every mountain, while some want to sit and watch the world go by. Some want to climb themselves, and some are willing to help other make the climb.

I don’t think there’s any venture that is more descriptive of leadership than that of putting together a successful assault on a major mountain. Next week, I’m going to take a look at the 1982 Canadian Everest Team and the leadership issues they faced in their successful Everest climb. The guy that started the team didn’t make the trip. But different leaders were needed for different times.