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Mark Agnew

Mary Hui

Adventure and extreme sports have been central to Adrian Hayes’ life since he was a young teenager, but he has noticed a shift.
“What has changed is the purity since 2007, when social media came in,” he said. “Internal significance, personal goals, personal self-worth, self-respect, doing it for yourself, has been slowly taken over by that recognition.”
He climbed Everest in 2006, and then summitted K2 in 2014.
But Hayes even began to question his own motives, and had to take a long hard look at himself to ensure he was doing it for the right reasons, he said on The Adventure Trail podcast.
Listen: The Adventure Trail podcast with Adrian Hayes


“What am I here to achieve?” he said. “Then I ask myself the same question – for the sake of what?”
When Hayes first tried to climb K2 in 2013, he made the decision to turn around. The conditions were unsafe. Everyone on the mountain made the same decision except for two climbers – father/son duo, Marty and Denali Schmidt. The pair pushed on an perished in an avalanche.
Hayes outlines the saga in his new book One Man’s Climb, where he reflects on the decision that saved him, and the decision to return in 2014.
Everest deaths: mountaineer calls for introspection, says hordes up high need to ask themselves ‘why?’

“I talk about a lot of lessons, the reasons we do this, risk and reward, gut instinct and the information overload,” he said.
All of his self-reflection has allowed Hayes to conclude his motivation is internal significance. You could hike, climb, run or skydive for freedom, health, camaraderie and more.
“But you can do this in the New Territories: a walk, a hike, anything. When you do these big goals you do it for one big reason, and that is significance,” he said. “That is what I’ve always done it for. It’s for significance.”

This social media-fuelled drive for recognition added to the dire situation on Everest , when 11 people died in May due to a combination of a lack of experienced guides and climbers, and a small weather window that caused traffic jams, Hayes said.
What he also questions is the integrity of climbing a mountain for charity. The causes are great, he said, but when you are away for months at a time on a project costing tens of thousands of dollars, it is dishonest to pretend it is for the sake of a few thousand dollars of charity donations.
“Perhaps that money and time might be better spent going directly to the charity you are claiming to support,” he said.

Hayes, who spent four years in Hong Kong as a Gurkha officer, has walked to both Poles, and served in the SAS. He has also seen a change in how he experiences the return to society.
“Everyone since [the dawn of social media] comes back to the information overload,” he said. “It just becomes this maze. The readjustment coming back has been really tough.”


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The Adventure Trail Podcast

Why do people climb mountains? Adrian Hayes questions social media motivation against personal significance

Adrian Hayes high up on K2 – he constantly asks himself ‘for the sake of what?’ to ensure his motives are still pure and not sullied by social media. Photo: Adrian Hayes

Handout image shows adventurer Adrian Hayes on Everest. [MY LIFE POST MAGAZINE] CREDIT: Adrian Hayes

Adrian Hayes (centre) joins Mark Agnew and Mary Hui on the Adventure Trail podcast talking about his K2 climb

Handout image shows adventurer Adrian Hayes (2nd L) Brunei 1989. [MY LIFE POST MAGAZINE] CREDIT: Adrian Hayes

Everest deaths: climber numbers manageable but low experience levels cause traffic jams, says top guide Adrian Ballinger

Adrian Ballinger has climbed Everest six times. Photo: Handout

Adrian Ballinger, Ama Dablam Expedition, Khumbu, Nepal

TOPSHOT - This handout photo taken on May 22, 2019 and released by climber Nirmal Purja's Project Possible expedition shows heavy traffic of mountain climbers lining up to stand at the summit of Mount Everest. - Many teams had to line up for hours on May 22 to reach the summit, risking frostbites and altitude sickness, as a rush of climbers marked one of the busiest days on the world's highest mountain. (Photo by Handout / Project Possible / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / PROJECT POSSIBLE" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS ---

Adrian Ballinger sits atop Everest, becoming one of about 200 climbers to reach the peak without supplementary oxygen. Photo: Handout

Everest deaths: mountaineer calls for introspection, says hordes up high need to ask themselves ‘why?’

Queues form on Everest as there is a rush for the peak when the weather window opens. Too many permits and not enough experience produce fatal traffic jams. Photo: Gesman Tamang

epa01210333 An Adrian Hayes corporate coaching handout picture made available on 29 December 2007 shows Dubai-based British explorer Adrian Hayes after reaching the South Pole late 28 December 2007. Hayes has broken the record for reaching the world's 'Three Poles' (North Pole, South Pole and Mount Everest) in the fastest time. Just 47 days after setting off by foot, unsupported and unassisted, Hayes has reached the South Pole. This earns the former British Army Gurkha officer a unique place in the record books by being the fastest man in history to have pioneered all three pinnacles of the globe within just 19 months. EPA/ADRIANHAYES.COM/HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY

The contrast between the queue for 2019 summit of Everest and when Micahel Tomordy reached the peak a year before by waiting for the initial weather window rush to clearn. Photo:Project Possible/Handout

Portrait of Adrian Hayes, a polar explorer and an adventurer, who served with the Gurkhas for some years, and is one of few to have climbed K2, photographed in Causeway Bay. 15MAY19 [FEATURES] SCMP / Jonathan Wong

Everest deaths: summiteer ‘surprised more people haven’t died’ after two climbers killed in traffic jam

A contrast between the Everest traffic jam in 2019 and Michael Tomordy 's experience on the mountain when he was the last team to reach the summit in 2018. Photo: Project Possible/Handout

Michael Tomordy.

Handout image shows Hong Kong climber Benjamin Chan making his way to Mount Everest. On May 21, at 6.25am, Benjamin Chan, 19, became the youngest Hong Konger to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the climax of a 60-day trip in Nepal, the bulk of which was spent on acclimatisation excursions between higher camps and Base Camp. [24SEPTEMBER2018 FEATURES 2018] CREDIT: Benjamin Chan

Michael Tomordy summitted Everest

Handout image shows Hong Kong climber Benjamin Chan's team on the way to Mount Everest. On May 21, at 6.25am, Benjamin Chan, 19, became the youngest Hong Konger to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the climax of a 60-day trip in Nepal, the bulk of which was spent on acclimatisation excursions between higher camps and Base Camp. [24SEPTEMBER2018 FEATURES 2018] CREDIT: Benjamin Chan

Sport

Outdoor

Extreme Sports

Hiking

Hayes climbs Everest and K2, but is forced to ask himself why he risks his life to ensure his goals are still internal
The contrast between climbing before 2007, when social media exploded, and now is the compromise of purity


Hayes climbs Everest and K2, but is forced to ask himself why he risks his life to ensure his goals are still internal


Climbing and mountaineering

Why do people climb mountains? Adrian Hayes questions social media motivation against personal significance

Hayes climbs Everest and K2, but is forced to ask himself why he risks his life to ensure his goals are still internal The contrast between climbing before 2007, when social media exploded, and now is the compromise of purity

Hayes climbs Everest and K2, but is forced to ask himself why he risks his life to ensure his goals are still internal

The contrast between climbing before 2007, when social media exploded, and now is the compromise of purity