Climbing

Most Genuine Human Progress Is Made Very Slowly

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gradual stepsCatherine Ryan Hyde – There’s a little mountain in a state park near my home. It gains about 1,500 feet in two miles. So, four miles round trip. About two hours out of my life, not counting the drive. Even if you wouldn’t take this hike today you can probably accept that you could work up to it.

I’d estimate that in the past eight years I’ve climbed this one little mountain 40 times. I’ve done lots of other mountains. More dramatic ones. Mt. Katahdin in Maine. The Grand Canyon, rim-to-river and back. Half Dome. The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. But I’m putting the others aside for this illustration. I’m just concentrating on 40 trips up that one 1,500-foot mountain. The cumulative elevation is the equivalent of hiking from sea level to the top of Mount Everest. Twice. Continue reading →

Researchers Discover That Crocodiles Can Climb Trees

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Reuters  February 14 2014 (Thanks, Otes)

CrocsClimbTrees(Reuters) – Most people entering crocodile territory keep a wary eye out on water and land, but research suggests they need to look up.

Though the reptiles lack obvious physical features to suggest this is possible, crocodiles in fact climb trees all the way to the crowns, according to University of Tennessee researcher Vladimir Dinets.

Researchers in the climbing study observed crocodiles in Australia, Africa and North America. The study documented crocodiles climbing as high as six feet off the ground. But Dinets said he received anecdotal reports from people who spend time around crocodiles of the reptiles climbing almost 30 feet.

Dinets said crocodiles lack the toe and foot structure that would be expected of a climber. However, smaller and juvenile crocodiles in particular were observed climbing vertically while larger ones tended to climb angled trunks and branches, all of which is a measure of the reptiles’ spectacular agility, he said.

“They just go slowly,” he said. “Eventually they get there.”

The finding was reported in January in Herpetology Notes in collaboration with Adam Britton from Charles Darwin University in Australia and Matthew Shirley from the University of Florida.

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