A new face climb is more a discovery than a creation
because you work with what is already there. Sculptors
mention how a bust or a figure already exists in a chunk
of stone. Their work is to chisel away everything that
covers the embedded shape. In this sense, someone leading
on the virgin face finds the natural line by realizing the
possibilities. That’s what a climber is born to do. He doesn’t
chase lines that lead nowhere or force routes that are
merely hard. Once the rock smoothes out and steepens up,
and the runouts start stretching out there, big falls become
possible, and you have to be curious about the unknown to
welcome the jeopardy. But classic face climbs encompass
more than spicy moves and head games. If you can keep
moving with some little grace and balance, you eventually
realize that the big open face goes on forever, that the game
is to see how high you can get before the shadows fall.
