The Importance of Calculated Risk

 

 

By Heather Caro

 

Rustout is the opposite of burnout.  Burnout is overdoing.  Rustout is underbeing.” From On Purpose by Richard Leider and Stephen Buchholz

 

Wenatchee native Mark Shipman is, by all accounts, up for a challenge.

An avid outdoorsman, Shipman, 61, lists his adrenaline-infused hobbies the way some people his age list their prescriptions.

Frequently cited by publications such as Northwest Mountaineering Journal and Alpenglow for his feats in mountaineering and paragliding, Shipman also bikes, rock climbs, backcountry skis, Nordic skis, paddles, and is an accomplished ice climber.  And those are just his hobbies.  By day, Shipman is an emergency room physician at Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, which might lead some to believe he seeks out perilous adventure for the thrill.

The idea makes him grimace.

“It’s more about wanting to do things that require careful planning and decision making,” says Shipman.  “I’m the most conservative person as far as risk taking and planning.”

Conservative may not be the first word many would use to describe a man who scales frozen waterfalls cascading down sheer mountain faces.  For fun.

But Shipman’s approach to this calculated risk could be what has perpetuated his lifelong love affair with the outdoors – including the perilous sport of ice climbing.

 

 

 

 

“There is something innate in my biology that drives me to it, and I can’t explain it,” says Shipman.  “It’s the mountains that draw me.  If you don’t climb ice you eliminate a large part of alpinism.  You can get to places you would never otherwise see.”

The world of ice climbing is full of extremes.  The sport requires climbers to take huge risks. Apart from the various skills required for the climb, there are additional environmental hazards and inconsistent ice conditions that climbers must contend with.  Nobody knows when an avalanche is coming.  And a mistake can cost somebody’s life.

But, explains Shipman, this is part of the appeal.  The challenge of attempting what he calls a tremendously physical and mental feat – without guarantee of success – is what keeps him coming back to the mountains he loves.

Shipman’s interest in the outdoors began at an early age.  Growing up in the Wenatchee area, his worldview was forever changed after reading the mountaineering classic White Spider, by Heinrich Harrer, at the age of 11.  “I was convinced I was a climber before ever getting up there,” says Shipman.

By the age of 13, Shipman would spend countless hours practicing climbing techniques with friends.  His skills developed quickly, eventually leading him to ice climbing.

Shipman, along with friends in the climbing community, has been credited with discovering and summiting some of the now-classic Washington state ice climbs when the sport was not yet mainstream in the ‘70s and ‘80s.  And though he estimates his first-assent climbs to be “no more than 20 or 30,” he is quick to downplay his contributions.

 

 

 

 

 

“I clearly recognize the complete uselessness of the sport,” says Shipman.  “Anybody who thinks his or her climbing is somehow important to the rest of society in any way, truly misses the point.”

Ice climbing fatalities have claimed more than one of his colleagues; however, Shipman does not hesitate to express his intent to climb as long as he can, in spite of the dangers involved.

“Climbing is like life itself,” Shipman says, with an almost spiritual reverence.  “You need to know when to start out and when to turn back.  You need to know that if you keep plodding away, you will probably succeed.  That if you work at it you will get better – and yet, in the end nothing matters, it’s all folly.  The experience is only valuable to you.”

That seems to be enough to propel Shipman toward his next climb – whatever the peril.  And watching the childlike spark of excitement cross his face as he talks about his adventures, it is hard not to consider that perhaps there is more danger in surrendering to the rote of the day to day.