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mtngypsy
Mar 28, 2002, 8:02 PM
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Registered: Mar 28, 2002
Posts: 73
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Patrick congratulations your writing skills are exceptional for someone 13 years old. I see you also have a good basic understanding of scientific method and I would venture to guess that you are quite passionate about both science and climbing. Maybe a career as a research engineer with a major climbing company is in your future.
I would just like to add to the comments already submitted. I lay squarely in the older half of your admittedly small control group. I trad climb 5.10 + on site and sport climb to low 5.11 on site when I am feeling strong. Pretty average per your stats. I was once a young climber now I am an old climber.
I think you only main scientific flaw here is your assumption that this is a climbing skills test when it is really a purely a strength test. Climbing is much more than upper body power, grant it when sport climbing the role of upper body power is much more important. I have had the opportunity to climb with a few young teen age climbers that can on site steep sport climbs in the 5.12 range. I have found that when the climbs are slabby, run out with questionable gear these climbers generally preform at much lower levels and generally do not have the skills or mental stamina to climb solidly in the 5.10 range.
To climb hard trad is a combination of well developed physical, emotional, and problems solving strengths that takes time to develop and is not often seen in 13 year old climbers. Hard trad climbers are a rare breed in any demographic of climbers though, not just the young.
This brings me to my main problem with your article and some of the responses that followed it. As you probably now understand there are a lot of forces trying separate climbing into little tribes of we are better than you are because we are ______ climbers. This form of bigotry is something climbing could do without. As you develop as a writer, scientist, climber and a person I hope you focus your very obvious talents with in slightly more positive and productive manor. Shifting to an experiment on strength alone would likely accomplish this. Our society and the climbing community could use more bright young minds like yours, keep at it.
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rrrADAM
Mar 28, 2002, 8:15 PM
Post #2 of 2
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Registered: Dec 19, 1999
Posts: 17553
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This topic is about the same Article:
http://www.rockclimbing.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=7865&forum=23
Since you just copied and pasted from your reply into this new redundant post I will lock it.
~Adam
[ This Message was edited by: rrradam on 2002-03-28 12:20 ]
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More science less us vs. them.
