Mountain Climbing and the French Spiderman Alain Roberts
With so many beautiful and dangerous mountains around the world, a lot of people have the desire to climb atop them. They do this for the thrill, the sense of adventure, the adrenaline rush and the feeling of surmounting the elements. The sport of mountain climbing evolved from this love of conquering the huge rocks of nature standing before them. Rock climbing also came about from mountain climbing, and is a little bit different in its style and the types of structures climbed. The Frenchman Alain Roberts takes mountain and rock climbing to another level by climbing buildings without any sort of safety equipment. He shows us just how extreme this sport can be.
Mountain climbing is basically self evident in what the name describes. But the actual sport is much more interesting and dangerous. Climbing the faces of mountains is about using nothing more than ropes and the strength of a person's own arms. It is about a climber putting their hands and feet on bare rock, sometimes on ice and even snow to climb to the top of a summit and conquer nature. Mountains are very dangerous places; a climber has to overcome snow storms, avalanches, thunderstorms, high winds and even animals. Besides all these dangers, climbers also have to overcome their own fears and try their hardest not to put a foot in the wrong place or lose their grip and fall to their death.
There are a lot of things a mountain climber can do to make the climbing experience a lot safer. One of these is to do proper research about the mountain that is to be climbed. The more research done, the less unexpected dangers creep up during a climb. Another preparation that can be done is to be in top shape, because climbing mountains is very hard and a person needs to be very physically fit to overcome such heights. Finally, a climber should have the best climbing gear that they can afford, because the better the gear the easier the climb becomes. Ineffective gear can cause problems and may lead to accidents and even deaths (Wikihow, 2010).
An offshoot of mountain climbing is rock climbing. In rock climbing, one basically climbs the sheer rock face of a mountain from the bottom to the summit. The sport is an extreme one which requires a climber to use their arms to pull themselves up the face of a mountain. Rock climbing is done by one person or sometimes in a group of two or three. It is a lonely activity and not really a spectator sport. The objective of it is for a climber to conquer a dangerous natural element.
Sometimes rock and mountain climbers can have accidents. One example was when a teenager fell off a mountain and was lucky to only crack her pelvis. The climbing company failed to take all the precautionary measures to prevent her fall. The company, Ferg's Rock and Kayak, was fined for negligence and also ordered to pay the teenager and her family compensation. This just shows that mountain climbing is a very dangerous sport and all precautions should be taken beforehand.
One man takes his love of climbing to an extreme level. The French climber Alain Roberts climbs manmade structures using no ropes and no safety equipment. He has climbed some of the world's tallest buildings and bridges around the world. He is frequently arrested for illegally climbing buildings but is usually released without charge. In 2009, the extreme climber, who is called the French Spiderman, successfully climbed Malaysia's Petronas Towers. He was arrested but only charged $350 and released with a warning (Daily Mail, 2009). This extreme stunt climber takes his love of climbing to new heights every year when he takes on higher and higher structures.
Mountain climbing and rock climbing are both extreme sports that require a high level of skill, patience and determination. By taking the right kind of precautions, mountain climbers can have a very enjoyable and fulfilling time. Hopefully, they will use safety equipment and keep their climbs safe and legal unlike the crazy French Spiderman. Conquering the elements and subduing nature is a goal of many extreme athletes, and mountain climbing is a great way to do it.
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