Little bit o' history

For any of you who are interested in climbing, I've run into a couple books lately that have caught my interest that I thought I'd reccomend. "Climbing Free", by Lynn Hill, who was the first person to free the nose of El Capitan, and "American Rock", by Don Mellor are some great reads. You get a full perspective of climbing throughout it's development, and the cultures, methods, and gear that have gone along with the sport. I never realized how different rock climbing has been over the years. And I don't just mean the actual act of climbing rock, but the whole atttitude and focus of what the sport is from region to region. Any climber out there would get a lot out of knowing the history of the sport, and the ethics that go along with it. Plus, it will make you happy to know that the best climbers of old considered 5.9's and 5.10's to be very difficult, so you're not weak, climbing's just gotten insane. :) Gym's and bolts have uped the ante. Anyway, that's my personal rant about rock for today. For those of you not at all interested, I apologize, for those of you that are, sweet.