I climb less regularly these days. Not because I love it less, but because I love it more. When I get a Big Mac, I throw away the tomato. Why? Because I love tomato. I love tomato so I throw away that tasteless red glob of chemicals and water that McDonalds gives me and calls a tomato but isn’t. And then, because I love meat, I throw away the patty. And then, because I love bread, I toss the bun away. That leaves the Coke, which I hate, so I drink it.
I don’t want any climbing I do to be squeezed into little crannies of time and disrespected. When I do climb it is with joy and freedom. It’s probably been November since I last had a blockbuster day on rock. I bought shares in a friend, John’s, plan to put a date in on a calendar, drive out to a remote moorland outcrop miles from anywhere, long hike included, and attempt a route of some local mythological value. The day came, colder and more drizzly than expected, but John kept a straight face and we went anyway.
Last Temptation (E6 6c). I had seen first-ascent photos in the mags way back when Dave Pegg did the first ascent, and there was something about the way Dave had placed his body around the short, overhanging crack that was mesmerizing. It looked so hard and beyond me but still I knew the joy of a mission, even a failed one, so went along.
Denne historien er fra June/July 2020-utgaven av Rock and Ice.
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Denne historien er fra June/July 2020-utgaven av Rock and Ice.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Call of Duty
Vikki Weldon: Hard lines and the front line
THE BADGE
WE DEFINE OURSELVES AS CLIMBERS, BUT IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH?
THE ACHIEVER
MARICELA ROSALES HAD EVERYTHING AGAINST HER. SHE BECAME A CLIMBER ANYWAY.
Chris Sharma
FIRST ASCENTIONIST, FORMER WORLD CHAMPION, OWNS GYMS IN SPAIN AND USA. INTERVIEWED IN QUARANTINE IN BARCELONA WITH HIS WIFE, 3-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER AND 1-YEAR-OLD SON.
PROJECT WAIT
A LIFELONG CLIMBER CONSIDERS THROWING IN THE TOWEL
Older, Wiser, Stronger!
YES, THEY CAN GO TOGETHER. HOW TO TRAIN STRENGTH AS YOU COME ALONG DOWN THE ROAD.
CALCULATED RISK
HOW UNDERSTANDING DANGER COULD KEEP YOU OUT OF HARM’S WAY
Accessories To Climb
Field tested
To The Grit
About 10 winters ago I touched down in Manchester in a hard, driving English rain. The city was hidden from view. I was groggy after a red-eye from Dallas, an over-brewed black tea barking on my dry tongue.
The Wild Ones
North Conway is a typical New Hampshire town tucked among rolling hardwood hills and set at the foot of imposing granite slabs, but 30 years ago it was the stage on which a small band of climbers led the way in boldness and vision.