Congrats!!

Hey, Big news, a dear friend of mine is now a Granny!! whoo wud have thought at my age Id have friend with grandkinds? bizarre. Jude CT is now a very glowing grandma, her daughter Hollie gave birth to a little boy. Im hoping this boy grows up with all the support and joy he needs in his life to become the man he should. Hes in good hands.

And if thats not enough Jude has finished her book, some people are speculating that its a sex manual, but knowing Jude and Brian, that would never get published. Heres looking forward to a read and much joy from Judes work

Hats off, glasses raised and well dont y'all

4807

Numbers? we associate numbers to so many things, what struck me in the Alps this summer was how intent people were to know and state the altitude of things, on a walk in the Aiguilles Rouge area near Chamonix, I realised almost every col and pass had a beige sign, this told its location and its height. Also lots of places we drive past, some not even in the mountains added the altitude to the name and data given. It got me thinking about how we classify our world, how we map it, measure it, contain it, plan paths and road thru it, I was reading at the time about Frank Smythe and his early years of wandering about the Alps and British hills, people back then didnt consult the WWW and guidebooks and forums for important info from random weird strangers, they just got to the town, sought some local info and made there own way. With all the data to be had now, some of it unavoidable, we miss out on this discovery. Secondly I got to thinking about how weve sought to contain, shrink, control our world into something we can imagine, something our kinds can process and have some idea and concept of. This is so far from reality, this world we live in, even the smallest corner of it, has more than any man can comprehend. How does one measure, describe the mist of a stream as 2am, as it is illuminated by passing cars? that experience lives in the viewers, why do we put such high importance on the height, the grade of a mountain or a rock? Its been a long time grumble of mine at how much the difficulty of something means to people, its no measure of manliness or bravery to me, its realative, one mans single step after a horrific accident is more siginificant and harder than any step man has made in the mountains. Seeing someone get something out of climbing they never had before, seeing the thrill, the joy, the magic of the dream beaing born in there reality, how can you measure that? matters not what grade weve given to the rock, its just rock, but the person there made those seconds what they were.

Let us strip away the rubbish, lets see beyond all the boundaries and compartments, lets see the mountain beneath the map, lets see the rock without the topo lines, look at the world clean, with a childs eye, see it as it is, then add what details you need, but always see at as nature intended. Can people see a rock face and see beyond the super imposed routes lines? can we look at Mt Blanc without seeing the routes up it, can we not just marvel at the form, the power, the good and evil built up in it? can we see the history and wonder how good those days of exploration were?

Ive rambled, its been a mind download of garble, take this if you can - go out, enjoy the world, but dont enjoy it on the back of what others say, see for yourself, sure get some advice, plan it out, but why always try to get the same experience as the guide book? climb somewhere else, choose your own line, fine an ew rock, meet some new people, sit and enjoy without having to map, measure and define the world.

The world in the mind of a man is nothing compared the the world ouwith the minds of me, dont try to shrink the world to fit our mortal minds, grow, stretch, open wider eyes to see all one can.