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sidepull
Oct 21, 2002, 2:30 PM
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I know most beta comes from people spraying at the crag but where does the term "beta" come from? Is it short for something? Is it carried over from some other endeavor?
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jt512
Oct 21, 2002, 2:36 PM
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It originates from ancient Greek climbing: [blockquote]The Greeks used to have a system like we do for differentiating certain types of climbs. About 400 BC, they refered to Alpha climbs (climbs for which you didn't have any prior information), Beta climbs (you had some hints), and Gamma climbs (you used assistance from one of the local deities or a winged horse).
Alpha and Gamma sort of dropped out of the climbing lexicon by about 600 AD, but we still use "beta" to this day. -Mike Garrison[/blockquote]
-Jay
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maiorlive
Oct 21, 2002, 2:45 PM
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I like this Mike person. He's entertaining.
Ancient Greek climbing comms?
linguistic drift gone mad.
W
[ This Message was edited by: maiorlive on 2002-10-21 07:46 ]
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drunkenmonkey
Oct 21, 2002, 2:51 PM
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i heard a great one that said this originated from the old format for videos. a hard route would have been filmed using a beta max format. If someone watched the video before trying the route the ascent was said to have been done using Beta (max). this became a generalisation for information or advice about routes.
Urban myth perhaps but one i like
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jt512
Oct 21, 2002, 3:10 PM
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Drunkenmonkey, it's not urban myth. The term did derive from Betamax video format, though the Greek answer is funnier.
-Jay
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passthepitonspete
Oct 21, 2002, 3:23 PM
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Really?!
Well I'll be buggered. I did not know that's where it came from. Was this a British or North American thing?
I thought it might have had something to do with beta endorphines, but I guess not, eh?
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jt512
Oct 21, 2002, 3:55 PM
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In the early days of home video, there were two formats, Betamax and VHS, that were vying for market share. Needless to say, VHS won out, and Betamax went the way of 8-track tapes. I guess we should really call audio "beta" "8-track." Hey can I get the 8-track on that crux? OK, that sounds dumb. Nevermind.
-Jay
[ This Message was edited by: jt512 on 2002-10-21 08:56 ]
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jmlangford
Oct 21, 2002, 4:47 PM
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You guys are all full of crap! The term beta comes from alpha and omega the beginning and the end.
Alpha is your level of knowledge before beginning the climb.
Omega is the type of carabiner used to rap off of at the top of the climb.
Beta is the knowledge you obtained during your climb.
You people need to get a clue!
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boz84
Oct 21, 2002, 4:50 PM
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For a second i thought you were serious, jd....
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jmlangford
Oct 21, 2002, 4:54 PM
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I was.
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kcrag
Oct 21, 2002, 4:54 PM
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No, no, Jody... I disagree. It's short for BetadollarIknowmoreaboutthatclimbthanyou.
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stow
Oct 21, 2002, 5:18 PM
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Veteran Richard Goldstone gave a pretty credible version of the origin of the word beta on gunks.com. Apparently it's correctly credited to gunkie Jack Mileski circa early '80s and comes from the Betamax of the Sony video format.
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lox
Oct 21, 2002, 11:18 PM
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Jack Mileski is correct.
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oldandintheway
Oct 21, 2002, 11:28 PM
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So let me get this straight..the Greeks invented video?
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jt512
Oct 22, 2002, 12:49 AM
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Quote:So let me get this straight..the Greeks invented video?
No, Betamax was named after the classical Greek Beta style of climbing.
-Jay
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ajkclay
Oct 22, 2002, 2:29 PM
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I started thinking about the Ancient Greeks climbing, and it occurred to me that during sport they normally competed in the nude. (at best they wore togas) And...well...would you really want to belay some big hairy naked Greek Dude?
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tradguy
Oct 22, 2002, 2:42 PM
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I don't know about that, but I have some friends who occassionally go out ice climbing in traditional scottish garb (ie commando with a kilt). Let me tell you, that aint so pleasant ("no stemming, please!")
Beta was a much better video format than VHS, by the way. The problem was that Sony was too stuck on themselves and refused to license the technology to other electronics manufacturers, and then proceeded to charge more for a product for which most consumers did not possess high enough quality TV's in order to even notice the difference.
Personally, I always figured it was derived from the software term "beta-testing" in which early users were asked for input about the problems and difficulties of early software versions. I think the betamax story sounds more entertaining though.
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ajkclay
Oct 22, 2002, 2:47 PM
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Ice Climbing?
Yeow! What if you knocked against something, and snapped off your er....
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andy_lemon
Oct 22, 2002, 4:32 PM
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Not from climbing , climbers stole beta from another origin.
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axhernandi
Nov 9, 2002, 4:38 PM
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Did you guys know that Beta-carotene is good for climbing? especially in low light
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airscape
Nov 9, 2002, 4:54 PM
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THe origins of beta.
You always rig two anchors rather than one..
It's BETA to be safe than sorry.
Or maybe it came from two greek guys arguing over a climb "I beta 20 bucks I could climb this before you"
Did you know that chris sharma climbs beta than most of us?
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curt
Nov 9, 2002, 5:21 PM
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ajkclay,
It is precisely because the early Greek Betamax tapes contain nude climbers that you can't rent them at Blockbuster. That is why they are rarely seen.
Seriously, "beta" in climbing does indeed have its origins with the Mileski, Gruenberg, Freeman gang from the Gunks. I had the pleasure of climbing with this gang quite a bit--especially Mike Freeman.
Originally Jack would ask if you wanted the Betamax for the climb--this got modified slightly to "you want the Beta, Max?" Eventually the Max was dropped. There was a time though when everyone called each other "Max". So, the Beta term lives on in the climbing vernacular, and the Max died out.
Curt
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thrillseeker05
Nov 9, 2002, 5:56 PM
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Airscape?
"Did you know that chris sharma climbs beta than most of us? "
just most of us? umm ok, who here climbes better then Sharma? as far as I know right now there are only 8 others in the world. if you are not one of those 8, then I am sorry you don't qualify.
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marcsv
Jan 31, 2003, 6:08 AM
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betamax. . .
i still have one that works, go figure
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sushislayer
Jan 31, 2003, 6:17 AM
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I think tv broadcasting still uses betamax or some variation thereof... But the tapes are huge.
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