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General Climbing Discussion

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What got you started? 6-Jul-2003 At 12:55:57 PM Estey

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Some fair points there K.L.

Obviously one shouldn't judge another's character by their dress sense. The two guys I saw in the brightly coloured tights were the first climbers I ever came across. My initial negative impression of climbing would have had more to do with the fact that it was totally foreign to me. What they were doing looked dangerous and scared me. Often we fear what we don't understand. I probably labelled the guys as tossers more out of ignorance than because of any lycra phobia.

The big Queenslander with the 43kg pack was fresh out of the army and a gear freak to boot which contributed to the 43kg just as much as his lack of walking experience. He ended up burying about 5kg of food early in the trip which made things a bit saner.

When he actually took me climbing for the first time he obviously knew more than just a "few knotts". I'd still rate him as one of the safest partners I've tied in with. I've never been able to reconcile how such a competent cragsman could lack basic bushwalking skills. This anomoly helped convince me that technical climbing skills could be learnt with patience and persistance and also helped overcome my negative first impressions of climbers and climbing.