Thursday, June 4

Watch, and learn.



This is Ivan German. He lost his leg in a motorbike accident some years ago. He did not let what others term a 'disability' stop him from climbing hard. Here, he is climbing a 7c+.

Hopefully, to those of you who think your height, span, short legs, short body, long legs, long body, puny biceps or big butt is the reason why you can't do some routes, you will wake up your idea after watching this. It is you who has to adapt to the route and not the other way round, so if you want to be someone who can finish routes every style, work on whatever you need to overcome what is hindering you. Or, of course, you can choose to walk away from the route and find one that you can flash easily simply because it's the easier option. Ivan German may have found this route to be less demanding, but hey, he's got a valid excuse.

So, short of sounding holier-than-thou, I say, let nothing stop you from climbing, whatever the reason.