Anna Fleming on the Experience of Rock Climbing

Geology Bites

This episode is a bit of a departure from the objective approach to geology of past episodes in that here we address the subjective nature of various rocks as experienced by a rock climber with a literary bent.

A rock climber’s very survival can depend on the properties of a rock encountered along a climbing route. This engenders a uniquely intense relationship between climber and rock. Anna Fleming has written perceptively about this intense relationship gained from climbing in Britain and the Mediterranean. In a book entitled Time on Rock, she writes about her experiences climbing gritstone in England’s Peak District, slate in the disused slate quarries of North Wales, gabbro and granite on the Isle of Skye, sandstone on the northeast coast of Scotland, and limestone cliffs on the Greek island of Kalymnos, among others.

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