The story chronicled in Choss Whisperer would by many people be considered a failure. The failure: to complete a first ascent. But Mike Libecki, who has completed nearly seventy expeditions to the most remote reaches of our planet, has managed to come home each and every time. It is not that Libecki is any luckier than you or I, it is just that he intimately understands the complicated relationship climbers and adventurers have with risk. And crucially, how to calculate it so that he may return to his family every time. Libecki’s attempt to climb the Poumaka tower in French Polynesia may have been thwarted, but under this lens, the expedition was a success.
brianh61
August 14th, 2019
Mike seems to be such an under appreciated modern explorer. Even in backing off here, his insight is completely entertaining and illuminating. 7 minutes well spent. Keep coming home, Mike, so you can go out again and enthrall the rest of us.