Staring at a picture of the Cuernos Del Paine, in Chile, I asked myself a seemingly insignificant question: "Why do I love rock climbing?" The answer, as you will see, is slightly more complicated than the six words that comprise the inquisition.
1. I love climbing because I love the outdoors. I love the outdoors because: a) it's beautiful and captivating to look at, b) it gives me a "smallness of self" perspective, and c) it reminds me that the world was not created by chance.
2. I love climbing because it is physically challenging. Tough routes are tough on your body. Training - whether in the gym or on other climbs - is absolutely essential. Nobody I know on-sights 5.11b, let alone 5.15a, and everyone I know works for 5.11.
3. I love climbing because it is mentally challenging. Climbing requires attention to the smallest of details in body movement. Body movement is one of the most basic functions of human existence, yet we rarely think about it. In climbing, these movements require a climber's fullest attention; and by thinking about them, he is, in a sense, doing what is most natural to the human existence.
4. I love climbing because I get to spend time with friends. As Christopher McCandless once said, "HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED".
5. I love climbing because I love playing with cool toys. You have to admit, there are few sports out there that offer the enthusiast as great an opportunity to tinker with devices with alien names like "ATC", "Cordelette", "tricam", "hexcentric", and "quickdraw".
That about sums things up. Please let me know if I have forgotten anything.
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