Gettin' air

Local BMX hotshot having a burn.

Skate

"If I die before I wake
At least in Heaven I can skate
`Cause right now on earth
I can’t do jack
Without the man up on my back"

lyrics by OPM - Heaven is a half-pipe

Engrossing read

"Uh, perhaps if you just turn the guidebook the other way round it would be easier to see where you went wrong?"

A little time-out fooling around on a climbing shoot. Spring 2007.

Frisbee

Collision during a game of ultimate frisbee.

Making the clip

Focus

Climbing is a strange combination of things. It involves the choreography of dance, the dexterity of gymnastics, the power of weights and the cardiovascular demands of aerobic fitness.

In addition, there is the mental component; one must be utterly focused, utterly committed and in mastery of any fear or self-doubt.

Many wrongly assume that motivation is provided by the so-called 'adrenalin rush'. This is entirely erroneous. If epinephrine coursing through your veins is what you are after, go bungee-jumping, or some other mindless, 'low-skill/high scare' activity.

No, climbing (at least sport climbing, anyway) is quintessentially about the movement. About the harmonious and powerful synchronisation of mind and body in order to unlock complex sequences of physical flow.

It can be both beautiful to perform, and to observe.

Pugilist

Giro del Capo

Rider at the gruelling uphill time trial of the Giro del Capo held in Cape Town. March 2008.