This is the most active member of the family - Rude-Boy. He has spent his life cycling, running marathons and half-marathons, walking, and now at 60 years old he decides he is going to climb mountains and glaciers. He knows all about simple double spring leashes, prusik loops, karabiners, lanyards, harnesses, anchor loops, quickdraws, belays, ascenders, crampons and of course and most importantly safety.I think these photos are taken in the Pyrenees and as you can see he is with two other climbers and also is the photo he is very happy.
In the third photo he is walking across an area which is quite dangerous because the wind has blown a false shelf on one side and if you walk on it - bye-bye!
Then we see Rude-Boy a little more normal running on the beach in Schevenigen - they do lots of wind-surfing, surfing and beach surfing there because it is always windy.
Then in the last photo you see the soft side of Rude-Boy with his grand-daughter Donnia who asked him to undo all her ballons. He managed it with two forks and then of course Donnia blew up the balloons and made them make rude noises
which everyone thought funny but humans are easily entertained.Margo is sometimes a little worried when Rude-Boy goes climbing but Ta-Ta says a famous man once said: 'A man doesn't grow old because he has lived a certain number of years. A man grows old when he deserts his ideal. The years may wrinkle his skin, but deserting his ideal wrinkles his soul. Preoccupations, fears, doubts, and despair are the enemies which slowly bow us toward earth and turn us into dust before death. You will remain young as long as you are open to what is beautiful, good, and great; receptive to the message of other people and nature'.
So dude keep on barn-dooring, crimpering, edging, heel-hooking and stemming.And for all your climbers out there Tizit says: 'always take in your heart the snow leopard - and maybe one day you will climb The Snow Leopard Mountains'
