I VONT TOO BEE ALONE!! (Route Plans & Emergency Documentation)

I gave up telling the local natives that i was solo-climbing in their mountains a long time ago!In Europe in particular its considered (at best?) a sign of brain damage or terminal insanity.Ive lost count of the times that some"Alpine-Elvis" has asked-"Where is your partner!??" or "Why are you alone!??"as if i had just murdered my second somewhere back on the route.So these days i just answer "I ate him yesterday,he talked too much!"or smile wierdly and retort "I have no friends!!!"which generally gets them running!
Its only to be expected that what we do is a little unusual,and even frightening to some i suppose?Most alpine climbers go in pairs "hut to hut"or up and down in a day,so as not to miss the last Gondahlbahn to the valley?They consider the Alleinganger who sleeps in the snow to be a strange,exotic beastie,more than a little bit insane.And who will end up frozen,broken popsickle,to be lifted off the berg in a big red REGA helicopter to the inconvenience of all? And sometimes they are right!?

Lets face it?"You cant pay your hotel bills if your dead!",a terrible crime in Switzerland!Many years ago realising that i was not going to change any attitudes to my jaunts.I thought that the least i could do(along with meticulous route and kit planning.)was to work out some documentation that i could leave in safe hands at Valley-Base to cover myself and my responsibilities to the mountain-rescue and local-authorities,in the event that i went missing on the hill?
To that end i devised "Personal Particulars and Legal Waiver"documents to be filled in before each solo expedition.These cover everything from NOK-notification to Exemption from Rescue for the emergency services in conditions where ,to effect my rescue or recover my remains may endanger the lives of others!
I figure that,if i choose to alone then i have no right to endanger would-be rescuers if all my best plans fall apart on me!?If any member is interested in copies of these documents,just drop me an email and i will send them in Word?!(havent mastered downloads yet!:-))

Why an Alliance?

I started this blog when it occured to me that after 48yrs of this obsession,i realised i had more questions than answers about mountaineering.Being a bit on the thick side,it sluggishly dawned that if i didnt have the answers maybe others did?In the light of that epiphany i thought this blog might be a pretty neat idea?Or maybe not,time will tell?!
My definition of a Mountaineer is that of the Oxford Dictionary,-"One who climbs,lives,or works in mountains".I dont much care if an Alliance member is a Solo Mountain Walker or a Solo Mountain Climber?If they have a passion for mountains and mountaineering then thats good enough for me.The simple ethic of the Alliance is as follows.
"To exchange knowledge and skills with other Solo Mountaineers, in order to enhance our independant abilities in the worlds mountain regions".
I dont care much for evangelism or the pursuit of acceptance from other branches of mountaineering or climbing.In my view Solo Mountaineers are by definition independant of ruling-bodies or public opinion,and set their own high standards by personal example of responsibility and best practice in their art.All human beings have an innate need to seek,learn and become better than they are.I firmly believe that, the man who descends the mountain is allways an improvement on the man who ascended,no matter what his objectives were or how succesful he was!No matter how many climbers are on a mountain,the only person one ever gets to really know is oneself.And after that the only way to meet that person again,is to return to the mountain,and the place where he realy lives!
Lets face it guys,we dont do well in clubs!?