In the hiking/climbing community, you’ll sometimes come across a hiker’s profile on Instagram, or somewhere else, that says they are a “no-list climber.” This reference distinguishes them from people who are focused on peakbagging lists as part of an overall “get it done” approach to climbing. And that’s cool. I appreciate what the no-list mountaineer is communicating—that the lists are arbitrary and that the great value of climbing is to be in community with nature, to which I wholeheartedly agree.
But…
But if you come across a no-list hiker, when you are in the middle of a quest to conquer a particular set of mountains, you need not feel ashamed. People need goals and a peakbagging list is a way to redirect that need to accomplish something—to get a win in life—in the healthiest, best way possible. You’re doing something great for your body, making yourself more aware of the surrounding environment, and because the goal isn’t easy, you do end up communing with nature whether you intended to or not.
Now there are some out there who are all about saying they climbed a mountain, rather than wanting to meet the mountain and get to know it. The obsession with Everest brings a few characters to mind. But on the whole, even if a climber starts off with more of a conquistador attitude to the peakbagging experience, most eventually slow down and come to realize it’s about a lot more. And what usually happens is that after someone completes a list, they don’t just hang up their cap and their hiking poles and say, “I did it. Show me something else I can do.” No, instead they want to find more mountains to climb because the effort and the air and the camaraderie on the trail, all give them a certain magic they can’t find anywhere else.
A Means to an End
The natural evolution of peakbaggers is that as they spend more time on the trail, they become less of a peakbagger and more of a peak chaser. This is the same for the no-list folks and the hikers tackling a prescribed list. They are all just using different methodologies to have incredible experiences in the mountains. To feel connected.
The no-list hikers may focus more on places they love, or destinations not known to many. They may just focus on climbing with friends who want to meet up somewhere, and it doesn’t matter to them what mountain they climb. Meanwhile the list follower is ultimately looking for a similar experience but is curious about new destinations. New to them anyway. The peakbagging list just gives them a shortcut to great places until experience itself becomes the guide.
So wherever you are at in your climbing, know that it’s all good. You can be a list climber, a no-list climber, a total noob or a seasoned vet. And it doesn’t have to be mountains you pursue either. All hiking is admirable. If you have to inch along a flatland trail or can bound up a ravine like a billy goat with your seat on fire, it’s all good. All of it is a step in the right direction. All of it is worth chasing.