The art of climbing, whether unfurling from a deep rose or falling from a sketchy mantel, stacking fingers and locking the thumb on a horrendous talon or knifing into a high undercut and building feet, serves little purpose other than your exploration of body against stone, and your exploration is often discomforting and daunting and exhausting. The art of climbing is a unique self-destruction, a distinct internal struggle…

a specialized masochism.