MJ calls what happened to her in Zion national park “small ‘T’ trauma”. She knows women have experienced worse from their partners. But she still feels the anger of being left behind on a hike by her now ex. “It brings up stuff in my body that maybe I have not cleared out yet,” she said.
Five years ago, MJ and a new partner – he was not exactly her boyfriend, and the pair were not exclusive – traveled from Los Angeles to Utah for an adventure getaway. MJ, who is 38 and works in PR, was looking forward to exploring Zion’s striking scenery; its vast sandstone canyon and pristine wading trails were on the list. But on the morning of their big hike, MJ was not feeling well. She could not shake the feeling that something was “off”; indeed, MJ would learn on this trip that her partner was seeing other women.
As they made their way up Angel’s Landing, MJ’s partner started walking faster than her. “I could tell it was getting on his nerves that I was slow,” she said. “I was like, ‘Fuck it, just go ahead of me.’” He did without hesitation.
When she caught up at the top of the mountain, they took a picture together. Then her partner hiked down the mountain with a woman he had met on the way up, leaving MJ to finish by herself. They broke up shortly after that trip. (MJ asked to be referred to by her initials for the sake of speaking openly about a past relationship.)
Last month, MJ opened TikTok and heard the phrase “alpine divorce”, a label she now attaches to her experience in Zion.
The article describes many instances of this happening and actually references the recent case in Austria where a man was found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter. He had also done it to a previous girlfriend.
So yes, it happens often enough for many women to have similar stories. The term ‘alpine divorce’ didn’t come out of nowhere either:
Im still not really sure here as I have also seen things where yeah you can find people who experienced the same thing but the numbers are not really taken into account. Just hearing tiktok makes me skeptical. I mean with billions people hundreds is like .00001%. Like chance of having experienced a mugging is .1% in the us. I will say though that it really boggles my mind the whole many may not be ill intent but then again that makes me more inclined to think of it as nutters. Like the incidence of schizophrenia is less than 1 in 100 but greater than 1 in a thousand. So like the news articles can be like. Schizophrenic wave continues to sweep the planet!
You would have all of your questions answered if you read the article
Would you similarly disbelieve someone if they told you they were mugged? Or is that only reserved for women telling stories of men who have mistreated them?
Im not disbelieving. I just find articles with titles that make things out to be a common occurrence or a thing to be wierd when its a rarity. I mean I even get the term because that comes from the group who in talking with each other start using it and with the internet that possible.
that’s what makes it a viral social media thing though. you take a rare thing and try to claim it’s a trend or a novelty.
well and thats the thing with this back and forth im having with another person. they are taking the track I don’t like the article but I just don’t like the title and the way its common with the social media age. I mean I could totally see this in that one section of the sunday paper that dives deeper into things like this.
That’s because your initial comment I replied to said nothing about the title of the article. You were questioning if it even happens often enough to warrant attention.
Dude - read the article. Not just the title, the actual article. The author backs up their title.
What are you talking about? It goes through some individual stories. There is nothing that backs up its like a common occurence or a massive uptick or something.
How many women have to tell similar stories before you believe that it’s a thing that happens frequently enough for there to be a whole article written about it?
Im not saying they should not write and article about it Im saying it should not title itself like it its some sort of thing. Something along the lines of. The stories of women who have encountered the unthinkable. Abandoned in the wilds.
The title ends in a literal question that the author then goes on to explain.
It is a thing. It’s a demonstrable thing where men leave their partners while on a hike. There may be multiple reasons for it, but it does happen.
Yeah, I would. People lie. Especially for clout and victimhood status. Especially on social media.
Oh I’ve run into you before.
You don’t think your tales of woe about women are for victimhood status? Lol