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2008年09月02日
Japanese Mountains: A Problem Solved at Last !
After nearly a year I have finally been able to solve a major problem at the Mt. Makio rock climbing area.
Mountain climbers and rock climbers have different goals. A mountain climber has the goal of climbing a certain peak. A rock climber, on the other hand, often has the goal of solving a certain climbing problem. This problem may involve only a few feet of rock or it may involve hundreds of feet. At any rate, the rock climber has to figure out how to get up that certain section of rock. Interestinly, many mathematicians are also rock climbers. They seem to use the same brain cells for thier mathematics as they do in figuring out moves on rock. As I am not a mathematician maybe that is why this particular problem has taken me so long to solve !
The problem I set out to solve about a year ago is a rock formation called the Chimney. The name needs no explanation-the climb involves climbing a tube of rock shaped like a chimney. However, this formation is located way at the top of the rock climbing area and so getting used to the hight alone took some time. Then I had to figure out the moves involved in actually climbing this route. About once a month, starting about a year ago, I have working on this section of rock. Overall it is about 120 (40 meters) feet of climbing. The first section was quite easy and the second section was just a mattter of getting used to the hight. However, the last two sections were a real bear. The moves were few and far apart and a lot of time it seemed that the only thing that would work would be basic friction rather than actual holds-not a happy propect when you are way up high ! However, I finally was able to figure it all out and have now climbed the entire route several times. There is something very exciting about climbing a route that has taken that long to figure out. The hight is always the same so it is always scary but of course that is what make is special.
I suppose in time I will start working on other even harder problems but for now I am just happy to have solved the problem of the Mt. Makio Chimney and plan on enjoying climbing it for some time to come.
投稿者 bethany : 2008年09月02日 08:30
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