Extreme Sport of the Week: Free Soloing

Short post this week.  I mostly wanted to show you some inspirational photos and stories about rock climbing.  In particular, there is this crazy sport called free soloing, which is rock climbing to dangerous heights without a rope.  This goes on the list of things I'd never do myself, but please direct your attention to this article I found in the National Geographic:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/05/yosemite-climbing/jenkins-text/1

(from the flickr photostream of Rick Tew's NinjaGym™ Martial Arts)

The above photo is of ropeless rock climbing at Phi Phi in Thailand, where my mom is vacationing right now, actually.  But it's not free soloing, because the guy is low enough that he could fall without getting severely hurt or dying.  

Free soloing... okay, fine, here's the awesome photo from the National Geographic.  I'm not sure if they allow others to use their images.  If they give me trouble, I'll take it down.  Until then:

(from the National Geographic)

Now take a look at the article that goes along with that photo.  Free soloing is stupid, scary, and awe-inspiring.

The article goes on from free soloing to talk about other rock climbing styles that are less stupid.  Feeling inspired, I went on to find this video of Lynn Hill and Katie Brown climbing together.  Lynn Hill is one of the best climbers in the world, and is mentioned in the National Geographic article.  May she inspire you as she inspires me: