Specific purpose: Educate the class about particulars and origin of Rock Climbing.
Introduction: The first man to climb Mt. Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary, was once asked .
why he climbed mountains. His response was "because its there." If you asked a rock climber the same question, they would give you a much more definitive answer. They would say it's the thrill and challenge of testing your skill against something as imposing and overwhelming as a rock wall. According to the book, climbing a guide to Mountaineering, climbing is one of the most absorbing sports ever devised by the restless human mind. This sentiment is echoed by the early pioneers of the sport to the current climbers who have a variety of technical devices that enable them to make climbs that would have been considered impossible to those early climbers. First we will look at the early days of climbing, the evolution of the equipment and finally how rock faces are rated and categorized depending on the degree of difficulty associated with the climb. .
Preview of Topics: .
I. Early days of climbing .
II. The evolution of some of the equipment .
III. How rock faces are rated and categorized.
Body:.
I.
1. One of the earlier recorded ascents was on Independence day 1893 when Willard Ripley and William Rogers pounded wooden stakes in to one of devils towers cracks making a ladder to the summit. According to the Wyoming state historical website about one thousand people came up form up to twelve miles away to witness the 1st formal ascent of the tower. This ladder was last used in 1927.
2. On the Same day John Otto climbed eighteen years later Colorado's Independence Monument by means of inserting pipes into hand-drilled holes and carving steps through smooth sections. .
3. Another earlier ascent was the ascent of Napes Needle in 1886. According to Rock and Ice magazine of June 97" British Historians credit the ascent of Napes Needle in 1986 as the 1st British Rock climb, and perhaps the 1st case of rock climbed for the sake of climbing rock.