It is quite easy to praise courage in the mountains. To move forward despite the challenges such as the cold,  to continue despite the weather. To not give up when the going gets tough… But in the mountains there is a line where courage slowly slips in to something else-foolishness. And that line is rarely clear in the moment. I think you can recognize the feeling or a situation?! Courage is not about It’s pushing boundaries, no, in a mountain environment it’s more about taking responsibility…Unfortunately, courage in the mountains is not about defying nature. It’s about meeting it with respect. An experienced mountain hiker or mountain leader knows that courage often looks quite undramatic, its more of: to say no when the group wants more. Or turn around even though the top is near. To take decision that no one will applaud. Here the courage will be to take responsibility for the consequence rather then the experience. Stupidity often feels reasonable in the moment The dangerous thing about stupidity is that it rarely feels stupid when it happens. Quite the opposite. It often dresses up in rational arguments: ”we are almost there”, ”the weather is good enough”, ”we got all the right equipment” , We manage worse before”. In hindsight, it’s easy to see the risks. In the moment, they’re often dampened by ambition, adrenaline, or peer pressure. The crucial difference: what drives the decision? Am I making this decision because it is wise – or because I want to? So from that point of view-What drives the courage? The Judgment-experience-responsibility for others-long-term thinking. (three-step thinking)?! Boldness is often driven by prestige, fear of appearing weak, goal fixation, past success. Having survived risky situations in the past is not proof of good decisions – sometimes it’s just luck. Experience is not immunity m any accidents in the mountains do not occur among beginners, but among experienced ones. Not because they lack knowledge – but because they rely too much on it.  Experience can create: overconfidence in one’s own abilities, normalization of risk a feeling that ”I can fix this ”Professional judgment is therefore not about always going further, but about knowing when to slow yourself down.

When courage really means turning around. Turning around in the mountains is rarely a failure, it is often a sign of maturity. The best decisions are often those that: are not visible on social media, do not give a dramatic story, do not give maximum dividends here and now But they make you come home – and can go out again next time.

A final reflection:

The mountains don’t care about our goals, plans or ambitions. They only react to our actions. The difference between courage and foolishness therefore lies not in how far we go, how cold it is or how steep the slope – but in how we make our decisions when it starts to cost something to be wise.

Love the mountains and they will love back, but take care – Judgement is crucial in the environment…

This Song Is for Anyone Who’s Lost Someone ”Time To Go”

See ya soon