[imagesource: Jess Wandering]

New Zealand Tourism’s clever little campaign catch-phrase warning influencers in the wild not to travel “under the social influence” might have hit the mark more than the organisation realised.

All those cliched “pondering on a rock” and “summit spreadeagle” money shots can actually be pretty dangerous, with experts and authorities getting increasingly concerned about social media glamorising some notoriously gruelling climbs.

Climbing the peaks in the Alps has been compared to playing “Russian roulette” for social media-inspired mountaineers without an experienced leg to stand on.

One cannot just ascend the world’s toughest climbs without years dedicated to building experience, gaining the necessary skills, and preparing with the proper equipment.

Least of all exercising one’s decision-making intelligence outside of the influence of social media.

The Telegraph explored “why the rise of clueless ‘Instagram-adventurers’ is so dangerous (and dumb)”, listing a few bucket list climbs from across the world and the problems they face regularly with these “influencers in the wild”:

Image: The Telegraph

We already know about Everest, referred to as an “ego trip just to get a selfie” with its boomboxes and disco tents.

Mont Blanc, the trophy summit of the Alps, has the highest peak, which is, unfortunately, far too easily accessible:

“The mountain is close to the road so people think ‘I’ll pop up there this afternoon’,” [John Taylor of Mont Blanc Guides,] says, admitting to having seen three people fall to their death in three separate incidents and been stopped by walkers asking “which one is the summit?”.

“People think it’s a hike, not a climb, but they are often very humble when they get up there and realise how wrong they got it – they’re not being deliberately wilful and arrogant – they just have no idea of the dangers.”

The situation became so dire that the mayor of Saint-Gervais, Jean-Marc Peillex, is now imposing a €15 000 deposit (roughly R250 000) on anyone who dares to climb Mont Blanc.

Those summiting the Matterhorn in Zermatt, Switzerland, also often do so with next to no common sense, according to the director of Air Zermatt mountain rescue, Anjan Truffer:

“There’s growing interest in ski mountaineering and trail running, where people run up the mountain in super-lightweight gear wearing hardly any clothes, and others who try to summit the Matterhorn in Spandex shorts and sneakers, because it’s been done by one or two pro athletes and they’ve seen it on social media,” says Anjan.

“And what do people do nowadays? Watch social media all day long and want to do the same.”

It’s content like this that makes wannabes really confused:

 

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Be warned that if you do happen to need a rescue, it could cost you way more than an arm and a leg.

London-based Tim Blakey is still paying off his £6 000 (around R118 000) rescue after being hoisted from a crevasse in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, last February where he got stuck snowboarding alone, with no equipment, and a 3% phone battery:

“Afterwards, my mother called me an idiot on live television and I deserved it,” said the 42-year-old physiotherapist. “I looked at the snow forecast the night before and wanted to find fresh powder. I didn’t do any research of the area, so didn’t know I was on a glacier, or there could be crevasses. I know the rescue services put their lives in danger rescuing me so I can’t complain about the money – even though it’s hit me very badly this year.”

Yep, fair enough. No money shot should be worth that kind of dosh.

While the rising “pay-to-play” culture and lack of patience are big drivers of poor decision-making for these influencers and mountaineer rookies, there are some climbing experts hoping to educate their following effectively.

Hopefully, they show up in the social media algorithm of a prospective summit spreadeagler before it’s too late.

[source:telegraph]