I have been following around a climber, Steve Wright-Eaton for a month and a half now, taking pictures and using them and interviews to compile a multimedia presentation. Although I have not yet climbed the rope or ascended the rocky cliffs myself, there is a lot to be said about the sport.
To get some good shots I hiked to the top of the cliff on a few occasions and the view was always stunning, no matter where we were or what time of the day it was. And I only hiked up the back side of the cliff, and although it was steep, it was not as hard as it would have been if I climbed.
There is a mental barrier when it comes to starting the climb and getting past your comfort zone of the ground your feet have grown so attached to. When I talked to the KSC student I have been asking why he does what he does many times and his answers are always the same, "Its a liberating experience," and "there is nothing else like it in the world."
And seeing the view from where I took pictures and while looking over the edge with my camera I could see where the barrier breaks and the liberation begins. You are fighting the human instinct to keep both feet on flat ground. Trusting your hands and feet to work in ways they are not accustomed, and scaling a piece of rock with less than stable cracks. And I imagine that when you get through all that and look down and out and get to see what you have accomplished and repel down, I can see the reward you would get.
Wright-Eaton told me its an escape, a good way to rid your mind of stressful things outside of climbing, such as term papers and work. You just focus on whats around you the entire time you are up there. And while taking all of this in, when I get over this cold of mine, I think I'm going to start breaking some barriers... or maybe when it gets warm again.
Do you think climbing is a liberating experience? Share your stories, whether they be from southern New Hampshire or not. Do you think I should give it a try?
No comments:
Post a Comment