 |
| Out on an unknown problem somewhere between Triassic and Joes Valley. Is there anything good out there? Photo by Ian Crookston |
45. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom a Moses in the law, and the prophets, did b write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
46. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
John 1:45-46
The above passage from the Bible is an interesting one. In that current age, the city of Nazareth was certainly not anything special. We can see that Nathanael was incredulous because in addition to the idea of the Savior of the world being raised in such a common place, is that the prevalent view in his day was the idea "that the Christ was to come in a royal state as seemed befitting the Son of David."1
Philip's answer is admirably simple "come and see."
Something I find beautiful about climbing is the many places to see, experience, and learn from. There is no specific arena you must play in to be a real climber, no designated hitter to call in for you, and always a tomorrow to prepare for and try again. To my perspective, that is part of the soul of climbing. There are always places to explore, new routes to climb, and all boulder problems and routes possess some part of the machine that is climbing. We can then assume that you are capable to appreciate climbing wherever you climb, your local crag or the largest meccas. Am I trying to say that your local crags are as good as the meccas? Well that depends on what values we compare, what I am comparing are many of what I consider core values of climbing (self improvement, friendship, enjoyment, exercise, an excuse to outside, adventure, education). When I do so, I realize they can be achieved wherever you are climbing.
In one of my local Nazareths (Little Cottonwood Canyon) exist beautiful slabs of granite made to climb on.
As far as my understanding goes, the big city in Jesus's day was Rome. Starting from the history of climbing, Yosemite is still a likeness of the mecca it once was. Little Cottonwood has smeary feet, flared cracks, and finicky pro. Yosemite on the other hand, has better versions of all three (typically).
John 1:45-46
The above passage from the Bible is an interesting one. In that current age, the city of Nazareth was certainly not anything special. We can see that Nathanael was incredulous because in addition to the idea of the Savior of the world being raised in such a common place, is that the prevalent view in his day was the idea "that the Christ was to come in a royal state as seemed befitting the Son of David."1
Philip's answer is admirably simple "come and see."
Something I find beautiful about climbing is the many places to see, experience, and learn from. There is no specific arena you must play in to be a real climber, no designated hitter to call in for you, and always a tomorrow to prepare for and try again. To my perspective, that is part of the soul of climbing. There are always places to explore, new routes to climb, and all boulder problems and routes possess some part of the machine that is climbing. We can then assume that you are capable to appreciate climbing wherever you climb, your local crag or the largest meccas. Am I trying to say that your local crags are as good as the meccas? Well that depends on what values we compare, what I am comparing are many of what I consider core values of climbing (self improvement, friendship, enjoyment, exercise, an excuse to outside, adventure, education). When I do so, I realize they can be achieved wherever you are climbing.
Nazareth aka LCC
In one of my local Nazareths (Little Cottonwood Canyon) exist beautiful slabs of granite made to climb on.
 |
| A view from on high of Little Cottonwood. |
 |
| Jordan reaching for his first piece from an oasis that is a classic LCC xenolith. |
 |
| Whew, no factor 2 falls off friction slab onto the belay today. Now where to go? |
 |
| A view of the thumb, one of the most prominent landmarks in the canyon, from the Gate Buttress. Can you really complain? |
Rome aka Yosemite
As far as my understanding goes, the big city in Jesus's day was Rome. Starting from the history of climbing, Yosemite is still a likeness of the mecca it once was. Little Cottonwood has smeary feet, flared cracks, and finicky pro. Yosemite on the other hand, has better versions of all three (typically).
 |
| With better version of all three, no wonder it is a Mecca! Photo: Zeppelin Zeerip |
 |
| Sorting gear while waiting in line on The Central Pillar of Frenzy, Middle Cathedral. Photo: Zeppelin Zeerip |
 |
| The Captain across the valleyfrom the same line. Photo: Zeppelin Zeerip |
 |
| Everyone afloat on the vertical ocean of granite. Photo: Zeppelin Zeerip |
1 Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage↩
No comments:
Post a Comment