Why I climb

People often ask why I climb (mountains), but my answers always lacked a certain... something. I struggled to make concrete an intangible -- a feeling (to be atop the world), a perspective (what I see from that vantage), and how the preparation and actuality trains me physically, emotionally, psychically, and spiritually for other endeavours.

And then, as it happened, I caught this brief interview with Ed Viesturs...

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Ed Viesturs
http://www.colbertnation.com/
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Ed nails the climber's imperative in a few broad brushstrokes. The bit about testing his limitations is spot-on: whatever your (my) limitations, the objective is not to ignore them but to keep pushing them farther away so they no longer act as limitations. Now, I do not know Ed Viesturs, although I wish I did. Ed seems a genuinely nice guy, based solely on this brief interview, which also happens to be funny, thanks to Stephen Colbert's goofy manner.

Oh, btw, I will be in London on my return (early-October) from a climbing expedition of my own, so please message me if you would like to get together and share a pint or two, and good conversation.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist