Subject: Re: LF: Ae rigger 'job'  anyone
> Well, he broke so many rules that I wouldn't climb with him even on the
> smaller towers I've done here in the UK !

Hmmm ... not so sure.

He described it as free climbing. Comparing it with free climbing in the UK 
(and the States, before anyone suggests I'm belittling their climbers),

- Free climbing is without ropes. Ropes are for wimps. (Or those who feel 
answerable to St Peter at the Gates.)

- The handholds were 10cms or more long. Normal (rock) climbing has holds 10mm 
long if you are lucky. On Yorkshire gritstone the typical hold is a rounded top 
of a climb with carefully judged friction to keep you from Mr Newton's 
Ministrations. NB - in line with English tradition, it has probably been 
raining to provide suitable lubrication to said gritstone. I'm sure other 
nations have rockfaces to rival the health-and-safety qualities of ours.

At least the climber in the video had the good grace to use his krab in such a 
way as to render it probably useless, depending on the direction in which (s)he 
chose to fall. But the views from the top were nice. There were no comments, 
though, on the people who put those aerial structures up there in the first 
place: did they have proper safety, or did they drill Rawlplugs into the 
surrounding clouds?

If you're still not convinced, try looking at photos of climbing in Yosemite.


73,
Chris 'OKW