Curious about local abilities

Submitted by Dave on Thu, 12/16/2004 - 17:11
Seeing what some of you can climb is humbling for someone still hoping to tick a WI5. I'm curious, how many Montanans are currently climbing WI6? How about WI7? It sounds like we have quite a few these days with people climbing the Big Sleep, Come and Get It, Winter Dance, etc., not to mention high-end M climbs. I notice this web site has a poll cabablility. Maybe we should take a pole. I can think of 8 people in the high-end category, but I'm sure there is more. I'd also be interested in knowing how many are at 5, 4, and 3. We are all just out to have fun and accomplish our goals at whatever level.

:arrow: To expound a little on these points- It's maybe easy to think that the Bozeman area is packed with "high-end" ice climbers; and while there are definitely some really strong & bold folks around, I don't want anybody to get the idea that everybody around here ( both in bozeman and on this website) is a badass. First of all, let me point out that there are all styles of good climbers around here: Young Guns who are pushing the physical standards; and Experienced Cruster climbers who first set the standards around here ( and worldwide ). And folks that are just starting out- in a few years, some of them will be climbing way harder than anybody is right now! Yes, there are more ice climbers per capita around here than in, say, Detroit. But thats because the topography and weather lend itself to ice climbing. Much like "horse-people" - not too many of those in Detroit either! This is also due to a traditional emphasis on strong and bold climbing. Finally, lets remember that : "The best climber is the one having the most fun" - and it sure is easy to have fun climbing around here!
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