A random assortment of climbing partners--here and elsewhere, current and past, brief and enduring. For whatever reason, each one has earned a place in my ephemeral roll-call of climbing cohorts. Interesting people all.

Think you should be here? That's easily fixed; stop piking, and come climbing with me!

My best American friend. (The irony of his not being a natural-born yank shall receive no comment. :) Unfortunately, I passed this guy by for over a year before we finally crossed paths. Better late than never, I guess.

Once I knew him, we spent some great time together, including the first of many times climbing Thin Air. We also went to Tahquitz and Joshua Tree over spring break in 1999. (That trip being memorable, of course, for Luke's first epic. (On a 5.3, no less! :)

He's also a pretty good photographer, although he doesn't seem to think so. See his great Joshua Tree photo-essay, for example. I stole some photos from him for these pages. (Thanks Luke!)

Luke's oft-neglected home page.

I only knew Emma for a few months in 1999, until she left MIT for Cornell. Nonetheless, she left a definite mark on me - kind, unassuming, as enthusiastic as they come, and ready to try anything. I plan see her again... somehow.

Here, Emma climbs Bunny at the Gunks. The trust she placed in me helped my confidence no end. I like to think she got something out of it, too.

The fitness machine - runs marathons for fun, and calls 20 miles in the Whites a 'moderate hike.' (Makes me feel inadequate...) Smart, independent and determined. Chrissy went to college at Wellesley, but somehow survived unaffected. A lucky escape, indeed!

Chrissy was also another victim of my obsession with taking people up the climb Thin Air. (She survived that, too!)

Recently, an ice climbing convert, an interest which I suspect started with a day spent with me, Luke and Hector at the Flume, in Franconia Notch. (I remember her collapsing in a heap after her first top-rope effort... Nowadays, from what I hear, she'd leave me for dead. :)

The last climber I met in Boston, and hence my most short-lived partner, unfortunately. Kate is competent and bold. We climbed at Cathedral (where she faithfully held my falls on Black Lung), Cannon (the Whitney-Gilman), Whitehorse and Red Rocks.

Well, what can be said about Hector? A unique individual. After a couple of great ice-climbing weekends (when we pretty much taught ourselves), we stopped getting on so well, for various reasons which could be best summed up as a clash of personalities...

...which is a pity, because I can't help but admire him. Like me, he decided he like climbing a lot, and then went for it. Unlike me he got better pretty quickly! (Something to do with natural talent, maybe?)

Hector's home page.

Top-roping at the quarry, paddling the Pemi, getting mugged at Dracut (don't ask);
pendulum fall at the Gunks (an eviction from the MUA), sore wrists at Cathedral;		she leaves, then I leave.
	Short, mostly sweet, occasionally sour.

Who is this grinning climber? It's Andrew Butterfield, the most willing climbing partner I've found since I moved to Canberra. We've done two corkers so far: Sweet Dreams in the Blue Mountains, and Cornerstone Rib in the Warrumbungles. Looking forward to the next one!

Here, Andrew climbs Over the Yardarm at Point Perpendicular.

"do i have a choice?" ... "It'll probably be choss" ... and so on. Maybe that's what over a decade's climbing in Australia does to you! Matt is hard to entice, but fun to climb with when I succeed. I snared him for a climb of Margarine Ridge (235m 13) in the Grose Valley. Strangely enough, the fact that is was somewhat chossy didn't seem to bother him much...

There is more to Matt than skiing and climbing though. Driving back from Araps, we stopped for some wine-tasting, but little did I know... Matt studies viticulture, and owns a small vineyard! (A yuppy climber, who'd have thought? ;)

I always look forward to future climbing capers with Matt... when he next decides he can be bothered!

We climbed Watchtower Crack, at Arapiles, and he lead the hard pitches. Enough said.

(Mad bird, indeed.) A British mathematician, who actually chose to come to Australia for a PhD. A recent recruit to the outdoor climbing caper, but she's taken it all in her stride. (If she's like most people, she'll probably get better than me soon enough...)

We climbed some at Araps, at Point Perp, and at Booroomba too. She doesn't seem to get out climbing much these days though. Forsaken for canoe polo... urgh.

Good things come in small packages. A better climber than most might think, and improving all the time. Unpretentious, keen and supportive. One of my best friends, too!

Phil lost his life on Mt Cook on March 30, 2004. A gust of wind put an end to his dreams and ambitions, just as they were being realised. In climbing at least, he was meant for greater things than me...

Phil, mate, thanks for the memories.

Amazing what climbing with me will do for your climbing abilities...

Keen. I climbed at two new destinations in 2003 - Frenchman's Cap and Mt Scabby - both with Peter. We headed down to the scary lower cliffs at Point Perp, too. No trouble with motivation here!