Eric Simonson, one of my most fav guides (read much sarcasm) has said that IGO 8000, a group of high altitude guiding agencies like Alpine Ascents International, International Mountain Guides, Himex, OTT (now defunct), and so on, who collectively are supposed to set standards for high altitude guiding, was just a mirage.
“IGO8000 has come and gone. It was never entirely clear what the real goal of the organization was," Eric told ExWeb. "Companies that were not members looked upon it as a cartel. Companies that were members questioned the value of an organization that diminished their ability to differentiate their respective products from competitors, and which had no ability to compel cooperation on the mountain."
Thanks Eric. First, this was a man, who I've seen verbally berate a client on the mountain in front of everyone. I believe the delicate words 'idiot'
and 'completely fucking stupid' were uttered in this elegant
motivational delivery to aforesaid climber. And the dood is a big guy.
Intimidation? Sure, that's a great way get your members up the
mountain. Let see what other gems big Eric came up with.
“IGO8000 has come and gone. It was never entirely clear what the real goal of the organization was,"
Uh,
Eric, it was the original plan that post Everest 1996, certain
guidelines, i.e. a de facto set of rules would be 'agreed' upon by the
major guiding agencies to organize the mess on Everest, so 1996
wouldn't happen again, i.e. scheduling summit bids, organizing O2
supplies, fixing the ropes and icefall. Pre-1996, this was done by the
true 'leaders' - Rob Hall, Scott Fischer, Eric this was your chance to step up.
"Companies that were not members looked upon it as a cartel.
Who
was guided up Everest that was not a member of one of the big guiding
agencies? Very few. And again, the disparate groups that were either
small agencies or boot-strappers looked to IGO 8000 for guidance.
Companies
that were members questioned the value of an organization that
diminished their ability to differentiate their respective products
from competitors, and which had no ability to compel cooperation on the
mountain."
Sweet Maria. IGO 8000 was simply a stamp of approval, not an Elk's club membership, it created an implied legitimacy in an otherwise free-for-all industry. IGO 8000 in no way was a blanket classification
for agencies, nor a selling point. Eric misses the point completely,
differentiation was never the point of IGO, it was standardization
solely for the benefit of the client. Who better to set and serve these
standards than the ones working the mountains?
“In
the end, the expedition business has changed and the need for an
organization such as IGO has shown itself to be unnecessary. IMG and
other companies chose to work with other expedition teams on a
bi-lateral basis, and we don’t need an organization to help us do
this."
Great, so you'll work with your friend Todd Burleson at AAI, but not Andy Broom at OTT? IGO tried to establish a baseline for performance and expectations for safety and conduct,
regardless of agency, that a client could expect on a paid expedition.
So in Eric's world, a fragmented industry serves the client better?
Imposition of basic guidlines ensures certain standards, that was what
IGO was supposed to create, not a 'bureaucracy' that was unnecessary.
Eric is a Rainier jockey, i.e. he guides several trips a year, probably has hundreds of summits. He should know that the well known leader on the mountain, RMI,
created a standard of service on a guided trip on Rainier, and that
they created and enforced the 'rules' to keep the mountain organized
and sustained for climbers. IGO was supposed to establish this, not
turn into a drinking binge at Tom & Jerry's (the 'office') in the
Thamel in Kathmandu. What Eric painfully fails to see is that IGO was
the groundwork upon which he was supposed to build and sell. Zing! Altitude my friend, is a bitch on the brain power.
