In reply to keith-ratcliffe:
Climbing has given me some of the most brilliant and memorable experiences in my life - both on and off the rock.
It has given me moments of pure undiluted joy, and also moments of pure undiluted fear.
I have woken up on alpine bivis relishing what the day will bring, and I've woken up on alpine bivis dreading what the day will bring?
I have laughed with friends so much my ribs ached, and shed tears for those no longer here.
It has enabled me to travel to the most beautiful places on earth, and to enjoy adventures which will remain etched in my mind long after the body has become frail.
It has challenged me physically, mentally and emotionally, and most of the time, I have been able to meet those challenges, but the times I haven't, have probably been the most informative and important.
It has provided clarity when real life was overly complex, and an escape back to sanity from the madness of the street.
Climbing has been my constant mistress, and despite periods when I have been seduced by other things and deserted her, she is always the one I come back too time and again, because she gives me that 'special magic', that I've never managed to find anywhere else.
Friends and lovers can come and go, as can material things, but the crags and the mountains are always there, a huge playground of adventure and experiences, just waiting for our imagination.