Topic: The rogue male ! (Read 7295 times)

Mourneman · « **on:** April 22, 2012 »

I've always liked to think as my hiking as a relaxing experience,although i like to exercise & enjoy good long walks in the mountains,i've never found the need to be the fastest,the guy in front,in fact that sort of performance ego thing completely fries my brain

i clearly understand some people feel the achievement in bettering their performance times & leaving the slow behind, as sport imitates life,ie those who strive and are at the top do well & those who just accept things as they are never really go far.For those of you that have shared a day on the hills with me i'd like to consider that people would think i put no pressure on them to move faster or put them in danger by asking them to do something they were not comfortable with.For me personally i've experienced both approaches & learned the hard way,in a mountain environment never allow anybody to decide what you can do & what you should do,always question any decision,remember pride comes before a fall,as Kipling wrote,'If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs 'it's a subject i've been thinking about for some time now & wanted to air it to discover has anybody else experienced something similar?The 'rogue male syndrome' as i've come to call it can be a dangerous one to encounter,were those not as physically fit or not mentally prepared enough can be placed in danger by a decision made by this person.

DSCN7178 by surginor, on Flickr

twentyclicks · « **Reply #1 on:** April 23, 2012 »

I'd say it's pretty rare Mourneman... the two sides of things are usually quite separated. There may be the odd clown who wants to show off or trash his mates, but mostly there's a middle ground when introducing people to the outdoors... it'll all be outside their norm: they will be pushed (a bit), they will experience new things... to a degree they need to understand the basic pitfalls (temp. regulation, blood sugar, getting to the top is only half way, change in weather, navigation) but most outdoors people will have the solutions to hand to keep things on the right side of fun. I think outdoors instructors will have a good way-in on this, as they are paid to coax people out of their comfort zone...things that may be entirely safe and capable of needs coaxed...but the reward they get is immense.

If you're in an event it's fair game (unless you come across someone in distress - should always help!). Outside of that, you can usually tell within 10mins of the carpark what the other person can manage and adjust accordingly.

More commonly, it's the non-outdoor person who puts themselves at risk by pretending they are more capable/prepared/knowledgeable than they are... this may be ego or ignorance. I was walking up to Hare's Gap with a friend once, when his heart started racing. We were already going slow, but slowed to a crawl after a breather. He continued to get dizzy and nearly threw up, forcing a retreat. I later found out he had only had 2 cans of Red Bull for breakfast! We had to wrap up and wait for the nausea to subside before I could get him to eat a bit before picking our way down.
There's only so much you can advise or prepare a grown adult for essentially in this case, a walk. Hit them with too much info and they'll not come or ignore/forget all of it.

Mourneman · « **Reply #2 on:** April 23, 2012 »

Lots of very interesting points there!The example given by you about your friend is exactly what should be done when walking with someone who is either fatigued or less fit that yourself,good man

,but moreover what i'am trying to explain is that a person who's a lots fitter & experienced leaves the weaker group member in a pursuit of there own personnel gain ,ie,why did hell should I wait for them attitude!i clearly understand the need for this in timed events.One example of this is during some winter hiking I did with another chap in the western mourne's,having a ascended eagle from castle bog with a time of around 4o minutes from the base,we stopped for a while to admire the views & take a quick break,we then started our descent again towards castle bog,i'd walked with this chap on a number of times but never on steep ground,after about 15 minutes I noticed we had only got about 75 from the summit & my friend who had no problem climbing was terrified descending,so I made the call,rearranged some plans,it took nearly four hours to get my friend back off the mountain,sure I could have walked off,could have give him a hard time,& told him I had to be somewhere but for me it's safety & always safety first!lesson learned & now I only walk the forest paths with this friend,some people are just too nervous for the mountain terrain,in the woods this guy is always in front & fitter than me,it's just a case that some folk are better sticking to certain levels.Had I have given the chap a hard time & pushed him beyond his fitness,safety levels,then any accident he may have had would have be my fault,would anybody else like to add to this?

Ed · « **Reply #3 on:** April 23, 2012 »

There's always one mourneman :-)
I get where you're coming from - I know someone who has an unending impulse to copy everything I do - and to attempt to compete with me at it. If I were buttering a slice of toast they'd have to be seeing if they could sweep the knife over the bread quicker ;-) If I said for a laugh I ran a mile in five seconds - they'd have to be telling me they finished it before they started, it's just the way it is sometimes.

It's a destructive element, but it's best just left alone. I hike, run, do what I do to better myself and to enjoy a bit of downtime - no need to measure myself against others - and usually there's always someone better no matter how competitive you are.

I kicked your ass at eating that chilli by the way - fear my chilli eating skills

Ed

zeaphod · « **Reply #4 on:** April 24, 2012 »

I'd say, as a pretty experienced leader, they are one of the most difficult things to deal with.

Sometimes you have to take charge and tell people what to do - simply to stop them hurting themselves.

I regularly walk with a very fit guy who has no sense of direction at all. On almost every club walk he has to be called back - like calling a dog to heel!

Craigy123 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 24, 2012 »

I find i have an optimal walking speed at where i have the right pace and stride to keep myself going. I'm quite fast paced and it does often put me to the front, its not an ego thing and its not just to be at the front, thought i tend to slow down for swedish girls in hot pants but thats another story, anyway... If I'm infront by any distance i slow or stop for a a bit til others catch up, and quiet often I will walk with the slowest person too as it keeps them going but eventually i'll have to get back into my pace of I get tired quicker. Pretty much what this ramble is about is that people have walking speeds they naturally move at but it takes a bit of responsibility to stop, slow your pace and watch others backs while they watch yours.

LandyLiam · « **Reply #6 on:** April 24, 2012 »

I tend to walk fast and have to slow down for my companions, what i often do it take some of the weight off them (or maybe the whole rucksack!) to slow me down and speed them up, only works for one walking partner though

another slow me down method is to run ahead and take pics of my approaching companions, works especially well at night when i have to get well ahead for a long exposure

But i am often on the other end of the problem with the scouts, there's always a couple of fast ones who like to run ahead, but i have to reign them in so the group doesn't get split up, then i threaten them with carrying my rucksack, which is always the heaviest

. Whistles are handy to call them back again, even if just to tire them out a bit more by making them come back down the hill they'll have to walk up again

What i have found is that people tend to get too hot by wearing too much at the start of a walk and therefore feel exhuasted, i like to feel slightly cold so i have to speed up to keep warm, but this only works well when walking alone. So when with a group regular reminders to remove a layer (craigy remember that one for the swedish girls in hot pants

) but remember to remind them throw a layer back on again when stopping any length of time.

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Author Topic: The rogue male ! (Read 7295 times)

Mourneman

The rogue male !

twentyclicks

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Mourneman

Re: The rogue male !

Ed

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zeaphod

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Craigy123

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LandyLiam

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