Reflections

If you have read any stories about Mt. Everest or the Himalayas, you'll probably have heard about a tribe called the Sherpa.

One of the questions I often get asked about after my talks is: "How can you climbers make those poor Sherpas work so hard to help you go up mountains?"

The interesting thing is: the Sherpas have actually turned their superior genetic advantage into their business. Guiding and helping teams up the highest mountains in the world - which are all in the Himalayas - is the Sherpas' way of feeding their families. Kind of like the same way a firefighter will sell his skill to help people out of burning building.

I'll write a few blogs on just 'how' it is that the that they are superior to ALL of us in the rest of the world.

Watch this space.

Just read a report on CNN that a 30yr old Chinese man died from exhaustion after playing internet games for a marathon session of three days, in Beijing!

Duh!!

Watch out boys and girls. Your long term health is at risk. I bet he never got up to get some circulation going!

Oh Boy!

I was engaged in an energetic debate with a farmer today. We originally chewed on opinions of how goverment is handling the whole farm workers/residents issue, but soon migrated to a discussion on how the climate has changed dramatically of late.

Just look at how the highveld went from winter to summer in one day! I's been hot and dry for weeks!

As a mountaineer, I can assure you that the snowline is on the high mountains of the world are receeding rapidly. I studies some pictures from my previous climb on Mt. Elbrus in Russia 5yrs ago and compared it to this year's conditions. Don't take my word for it, the pictures speak for themselves. Stormy photo's - 2005. Sunny photo's - 2007.

Have you seen any obvious changes in climate conditions recently?

There seem to be two schools of thought on this. The 1st is that the globe is warming up and we need to reduce carbon emissions to prevent a climatic cirsis.

The 2nd; the earth is tilting on its axes by a fraction of a degree every hundred years or so. Apparently the equator will become the poles and visa versa.

If you study the details, both arguments make sense. Hopefully I live long enough to understand it all in retrospect.

While trying to find a silver Tibetan teapot in the busy and chaotic Durbar Square in Kathmandu (Nepal) last weekend, I came across a public ceremony that made me stop and think.

In full view of all passers by, a number of young boys (some as young as 11yrs) were undergoing an ancient ceremony, which transitioned them into manhood. Much has been said about the moment when young people know their responsibilities as adults have started. Much discussion has ensued in my country (South Africa) about  "initiation" ceremonies. 

So, while watching this incredible display and the pride with which it was done, I couldn't help but think that maybe the young people in most western/modern societies are at a disadvantage in their development as responsible human beings, because they don't know when adulthood truly begins.

Are there any distinct "rites of passage" left in modern society? Is there any place for it? Will the lives of young adults be any different if there were to be an introduction of such events?

What kind of event would constitute "rites of passage" in our day and age?

Why do climbers rope themselves together?   To stop the sensible ones from leaving!

"You have permission to call me anything you want - except sir, all right?   Lord of Lords, Your Demigodness, that'll do."
- Bono, joking about his knighthood, March 2007

i'm going on holiday to france has anyone ever done any rock climbing there and can they suggest good climbs
Reply:  "could you give us more information like where in france you're going and when and what kind of climbing you're looking for and and at what level whether you have done any research yourself or are just bugging us and anyway why should we take the time to help you when you can't be bothered to even use any punctuation or provide basic information much less actually do any leg work yourself so I am going to guess that you belong in a gym try murmur in paris but just boulder because i have friends there and i would rather you not belay them." Frederick 'Fritz' Weihe.

The ins and outs of cricket!
You have 2 sides, 1 out in the field and 1 in.
Each man that's in the side that's in goes out and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out.   When they are all out the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tried to get those coming in out.   Sometimes you get men still in and not out.   When both sides have been in and out including the not outs that's the end of the game.
Howzat!!!!
"As we know there are known knowns.   There are things we know we know.    We also know there are know unknowns.   That is to say we know there are some things we do not know.   But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don't know we don't know."
  -  Donald Rumsfeld, US Dept of Defence, news briefing Feb 2002.