Photo: Erik Sundberg
There are old climbers, and there are bold climbers, but few old, bold climbers.
I don’t know who said this, I’ve heard it attributed to dozens of climbers, and I tend to think of it a general understanding of the sport and what to expect as you age into it.
Granted, I’m not as old as many of the far more proficient and accomplished climbers out there, but kids who were born when I learned how to climb are now driving cars. Its a struggle of mine, against this aging thing, but that’s a different article for a different time – and I don’t find it terribly appropriate to talk about aging when I’m the younger of many colleagues.
This is about behavior. Not necessarily ethics – one thing that Harrison Ford and I both share is a dislike for Dr. Hannaford’s teaching of the subject – but more along the lines of what I’ll call usual conduct.
Its easy to forget that the sports we participate in carry an inherent risk. These things we do, for fun, are dangerous. People get killed, seriously injured, maimed, and crippled for life – and we accept these things as de rigueur. Why?
