By thedihedral Posted on

Because It’s There

At 8,848 meters, Sagarmāthā is the tallest mountain on the planet. Most commonly known as Mount Everest, this Nepalese icon was given its English name in honor of the British Surveyor General of India Sir George Everest in 1865.

The first summit may have happened in 1924 by the famed pair of climbers Andrew Irvin and George Mallory. There is some resistance to crown this duo as kings of the mountain because neither survived the descent, and no eyewitnesses were actually able to verify the summit. Regardless of verification they were last seen very close to the peak.

There are over two hundred frozen corpses scattered throughout Everest, with a success rate of 20% or lower, one can easily understand the question “why”. Why would anyone attempt to summit a mountain with such a low success rate, and high mortality rate.

This question was put to George Mallory regarding his ambition to tackle Mount Everest. Mallory’s response is now known as the most famous three words in mountaineering, “because it’s there”.

Because it’s there? Mallory was a Cambridge graduate, and lecturer, he was an articulate writer who had a penchant for imagery. He was a history major with an acquaintance with literary classics. He kept journals filled with detailed descriptions while on treks, and used to recite Keats to his fellow climbers while on Everest. Speaking of Everest, Mallory described her as “a prodigious white fang excrescent from the jaw of the world”.

“Because it’s there”, this is how his climbing brethren remember him? This is the phrase that would cling to the masses? This. Is. A. Joke. Literally this is a joke. As the story goes, Mallory was at a press conference during a fund raising tour in the U.S. after his second failed attempt on Everest, and a reporter kept asking why do you want to go back? Why? Why? Why? In order to shut the reporter up, Mallory responded in a derisive and sarcastic way…”because it’s there”. A meme is born. The most famous three words in mountaineering.

These three words have gone beyond the scope of climbing, I hear them given as a reason to justify all sorts of actions. Why should we study philosophy? Why should we explore that cave? Why should we eat at Denny’s? Because it’s there. Because it’s there. Because it’s there.

As a reason for action this expression hardly makes any sense at all. This response is completely unsatisfactory, as evidenced by further examples. Why do you brush your teeth? Why do walk your dog?   Why do you love your spouse? If your response to any of these is “because it’s there”, then I would recommend that you are not worthy of your dog’s affection, or your partner’s love, I suppose you are welcome to keep your teeth despite the fact that your reason for brushing them is tripe.

Just as you wouldn’t be worthy of your spouse if the reason for offering your love were because they’re there, a climber who can offer no better reason to scale a mountain is not worthy of the ascent, the camp, or even the approach.

In total, throughout Mallory’s attempts to summit the “prodigious white fang” nine lives were lost, including 7 Sherpa’s, Andrew Irvin’s, and George Mallory’s. “Because it’s there” is an insult to their lives, their stories, and their memories.

I’m not a fan of “because it’s there”, it’s a lazy response, it’s almost tautological, and ultimately it’s an insult to the integrity of our goals. But not only is it an insult to our own goals, it’s an insult to George Mallory himself.

Why pin the legacy of an educated war veteran, a scholar, and master alpinist on the butt of a joke, when we have his actual reason for climbing Everest articulated in his own pen?

“People ask me, ‘What is the use of climbing Mount Everest?’ and my answer must at once be, ‘It is of no use. ‘There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever. Oh, we may learn a little about the behaviour of the human body at high altitudes, and possibly medical men may turn our observation to some account for the purposes of aviation. But otherwise nothing will come of it. We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver, not a gem, nor any coal or iron… If you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won’t see why we go. What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to live. That is what life means and what life is for.”

This is the response of a true climber when asked why he would climb Everest; this is the true response of the great George Mallory.

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Carrot Co-writer theDIHEDRAL

18 Replies to “Because It’s There”

    1. thedihedral says: Reply

      Thanks for the comment Sascha, whenever I hear someone use this quote I always shake my head in confusion, and so I was so pleased to read that it actually was used ironically.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. thedihedral says: Reply

      Denzil, your comment is deeply appreciated! I find Mallory’s life outside of climbing just as interesting as his life on the “fang”. On a side note your blog is spectacular, my family is from Ninove, and emigrated to Canada during WWII. I have been there only twice, but have always received the warmest welcome, and I am always in awe from the profound beauty of both the cities and the landscape!

      -Carrot

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Denzil says:

        Thanks so much for your kind comments. I don’t know Ninove too well as it’s on the other side of Brussels to me. Glad you always get a warm welcome when you return here.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. colonialist says: Reply

    I would say that ‘because it’s there’ actually encapsulates the longer explanation, and is not at all trite or inadequate. A climb or a cave exploration exists as a challenge. The challenge has come into being because those things are there. If they weren’t there, neither would the challenge be.

    Liked by 2 people

  5. floydhill says: Reply

    “. . .that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward”

    This is exactly the point. Thanks for the rest of the story.

    “Because it is there.” has always seemed a bit glib so I never gave it much thought. But the “struggle” yes, now there is something I can relate to. I am a novice at mountain climbing, No. There is no Everest, no Denali, not a Rainier, and probably nothing higher than Elbert in Colorado in my “mountaineering career”. Never the less at 13000 ft every step is fairly arduous and it feels good. And when the hike becomes a climb with good exposure I am confronted with my own mortality. Life gets “real.” Issues at work, political arguments, worrying about the future or regretting the past all becomes stunningly trivial.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. thedihedral says: Reply

      Floyd, I think you nailed it! I was just talking to a friend about how well lessons we learn on the rocks translate to everyday life, and how everyday life can just evaporate in the granite or limestone or even just the carefree breeze on high! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, they are very much appreciated!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. chaosgatebook says: Reply

    Joining mountain beauty, becoming one with it, is a reason for climbing. I suspect that Mallory’s experiences in World War I made his need to climb greater than most.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Jordan Hoggard says: Reply

    I appreciate you setting this straight. The quippy, clever, evasive, avoiding, tossed off sound byte of, “because it’s there,” never sat well with me. It didn’t feel to be Mallory. He was engaged in life, and I robustly appreciate you penning the words from his own pen.

    Thank you.

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