Thursday, January 11, 2007

Faith in Friction



I started reading "The Villain - The Life of Don Whillans" by Jim Perin recently. Right now I am at the infant stage of Don's climbing career in Peak District. I used to lived an hour's away from the climbing outcrops of the "Peaks". Reading those few chapters which he gradually evolved from a hiker to a climber brings me back all those fond memories of my first year in climbing, it was also in the "Gritstone" crags in the Peaks which I got into the sport. It is a very special rock, big bulging round rocks that is highly fritional and abrasive. It is either loved or loathed by British climbers, though I don't know whether it was the history of Gritstones climbing or my personal happy times there, it occupies a special place for me. The following is an extract in the book on Gritstone:

Its holds for the most parts are sloping and indefinite, its bulging crack lacerate your hands. It demands a style based on confidence and agility, on both sophistication of technique and aggression in approach, on ingenuity and faith in friction.
"Faith in friction" what a nice saying, I love it, and I just checked that faithinfricition.com has not been registered yet, I can't believe no one has done it.

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