So last weekend I was hiking to Squaw Peak with some friends of mine and I noticed a lot of rock climbers scaling the surrounding cliffs. With all the helmets, harnesses, and carabiners, they were equipped with you wouldn't worry too much about their safety, but then the thought occurred to me...
someone somewhere back in the annals of history must have been crazy enough to try that the first time- without any gear. Like this guy.
Now watch this video! http://youtu.be/8e0yXMa708Y
This guy might seem crazy, but free climbing was once a necessity of life for people like the Anasazi of the American Southwest. It's truly awesome to see first hand (which I've had the opportunity to do) the sheer cliffs leading to the intricate buildings they built nestled into the rocks and to think that they had to climb these walls just to live their daily lives. There is also evidence of ancient Chinese people rock climbing from watercolors that date back to 400 B.C.E. (but sadly these seem to be very elusive)
I've had some experience free climbing, which I learned at a Scout Camp some years back, but nothing like Dan Osman up there. For us lesser humans, technology is the key to conquering these challenges of nature. The first recorded example of a technical climb using equipment (which at that time consisted of grappling hooks and siege equipment) was in 1492, when King Charles the VIII of France ordered Dompjulian de Beaupré to ascend Mt. Inaccessible.
In the following centuries technology improved and techniques were shared among a growing community of climbers until in the late 19th century when rock climbing was first practiced for sport in England from which it quickly spread around the world.
In my own experience learning the folk knowledge of climbing and rappel I was taught the basics of safety and technique by skilled instructors, but much like the early pioneers of the sport, the most learning is done by just doing it.What once began as a means of getting around inhospitable terrain has survived the tests of time and been passed down to become one of the most widely practiced outdoor sports. It's really interesting to see the change in application of folk knowledge throughout history.
Your free climbing is cool. It reminds me of growing up and climbing my crab apple tree in my back yard. I had some set places where I always would climb and one day a friend came over and he climbed my tree until his head was out of the tree. After that I realized that I could climb much higher and followed him up to the top. To me that is kind of like the folk knowledge that the first climbers had; you can always climb higher and can push yourself and become better at what ever we do.
ReplyDeleteSquaw peak is a really fun hike..especially when it is pouring. I speak from experience.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, it is really interesting to think how what is practically insane these days was a norm and necessity of life in the past. Free climbing is definitely an activity that few participate in and need to have the courage to do. But looking back into history, in order for people to even get home, it had to be done.
Makes me think of what may be a norm today and how something may evolve into a mere fun activity in the future.
Is there something that is a necessity today that you can see becoming not so necessary in the future ?
I enjoyed the video you posted showing Dan Osman free climbing,but I found the first "related video" suggested by YouTube to be even more interesting. The video was a short documentary on Dan Osman where his untimely death in 1998 is discussed. He died at the age of 35 when his equipment failed during a "controlled free-fall" jump in Yosemite National Park. Although he didn't die while free climbing, I think we can see why so few people do it these days. It's an incredibly dangerous activity that can be made a lot safer with modern technology. With ropes and harnesses being so readily available, it seems foolish to climb without gear.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Tanner, the folk knowledge around rock climbing has changed a lot over the course of time. Thanks to modern equipment, less skill is required to participate in such an exciting activity, making it more available to the general public. What used to be a necessary skill has transformed to a recreational activity!
It's hard to think of things that we do now that will someday be unnecessary, because we are so used to them that they seem like an essential part of what we do, but just in our lifetimes, we can see that things have enormously changed. For example, my dad is a businessman, and so he has to stay connected with his business. Before we had cell phones, we often had to cut vacations and things short, because he had to get back home and go to work, but that changed when he got a cell phone. Soon, he could do business anywhere he could email, and now that his phone does email, he can be absent from his business for long periods of time and everything functions smoothly.
ReplyDeleteWhat crazy things are going to happen to us in 20 years?
In 20 years..I'll probably become like every typical Mormon woman.
ReplyDeleteA mother with a bajillion children..
Thanks for your input guys!I liked Montana's personal example that related to climbing, and I'm glad Jake mentioned what he found, because I was wondering if he was still around today because I hadn't seen any really recent videos of him. Also, Brett and Shuan brought up an interesting point that our world and the knowledge we share could have a different meaning or application in the near future.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if rock climbing or mountain climbing could be a metaphor for folk knowledge. Maybe free climbers are like traditions that are vulnerable to being lost, and things like books are the ropes that could keep an otherwise at-risk culture from falling into obscurity.
ReplyDeleteI think it is especially amazing how a common activity of free-climbing or rock-climbing can span across multiple cultures. From the Anasazi to ancient Chinese civilizations, you can link these people by a shared activity.
ReplyDeleteIt brings more power to folk knowledge in my opinion. Learning from one another from generation to generation, and possibly, culture to culture. It shows the immense power of the simple human to learn and grow through the passage if time.