In reply to Sean Kelly:
> Throw away the guidebook. Walk up to the Ben North Face and pick a line that looks both good and doable. Much the same way as the pioneers did all those years ago with only one straight axe, only nailed boots on their feet and hemp tied around the waist. I do bemoan the amount of gear that people take on the hills today. Some sacs can hardly be lifted off the ground. Their should be an amount of uncertainty in any given venture, or should that be adventure?
You do it your way, let others do it theirs. I'm sure you've done many routes with the use of a guidebook and no routes with hemp rope around your waist.