Climbing is a perfect all encompassing sport (Sports Equipment in General)

Member Name: strangepower

Product:	Sports Equipment in General
Date:	24/10/00 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great exercise - good views

Disadvantages: brown pants

Let me expand on that.

Climbing is a combination of strength, technique, mental resilience, determination and cool gadgetry. As well as this, the location for climbing is generally in an area of great outstanding beauty and on a cool geological feature. It is a rare person indeed who doesn't get invigorated by natural beauty and cool rock features.

To be a good climber you must have a combination of strong fingers, a Zen like calm when confronted with difficult manoeuvres and of course a good head for heights. It helps also to have a high pain threshold and also not minding 'getting the fear' and being able to get over it as quickly as possible. Having the fear is a high energy consuming activity and has no place on precipitous cliff faces.

Like all good sports, climbing requires much more than strength and stamina. Good technique will mean you will be able to execute moves that seem impossible to the neophyte, a good knowledge of rocks and your equipment will mean you be much more aware of your limitations, good rhythm will mean you will expend less energy. This is the perfect set up for humiliation, as you and your rippling finely toned torso, clings sobbing to the rock, while some slight framed septuagenarian whizzes past you, wishing you a lovely day as she passes.

There is an extreme element to this sport. These fearless fruitcakes think that the use of a rope taints the purity of their sport, and opt instead to climb without any protection or ropes. In order to be a free climber you have to have a complete knowledge of the limits of your abilities, a complete disregard for gravity, an intimate relation with rock and most importantly know exactly your limitations. Free climbers exist on a mental plane so divorced from normal, that questions such as: 'what if you get stuck half way up?' are as meaningless to them as 'could you feel the heart of the rock pulsing through the hindlegs of your spirit m
ind?' are to us.

If you want to start climbing, go to a climbing wall. There are many walls dotted around the country, in London there is even one under a flyover of the A40, it looks awesome. You?ll know pretty soon whether you have a climbing disposition or not, as well as realising that there are some muscles in your body that you have never been used up to this point in your life.

To summarise climbing is a complete mental and physical workout which will improve your spirit, body and mind. It?s also a damn good excuse for getting into the countryside, getting some fresh air and catching some rays.

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