1Of all the sports I have tried, rock climbing is the only one that has truly captured my imagination.
2Unlike running or swimming, climbing never repeats itself, because every route is a new puzzle.
3Each climb demands strength, balance, and flexibility, but also a careful reading of the rock.
4Before you even leave the ground, you must decide where your hands and feet will go.
5Once you are on the wall, hesitation burns precious energy, so decisions must be quick and committed.
6Fear is always present, yet learning to manage it is precisely what makes the sport addictive.
7There is a strange clarity that arrives when your whole attention narrows to the next hold.
8The endless worries and pressures of daily life simply cannot follow you up the wall.
9Climbing also builds an unusual kind of trust, because your partner literally holds your life on the rope.
10Some of my closest and most enduring friendships were formed through long days at the crag.
11After a difficult climb, my hands are ruined and my arms ache, yet I feel completely renewed.
12I suspect I will still be climbing, however slowly, when I am old and grey.