[JamesD]

...and why is it so much fun?
Is climbing just a natural primal instinct that we leave dormant because of our upbringing in today's modern society?
Can anyone here quantify it, I sure find it difficult to?
I just know I really enjoy it, the feeling of moving in a fluid manner, launching up explosively to that next far away hold that you tell yourself you are going to make, but you know there is a chance you might not, pivoting and swinging across the rock, on that tiny barely perceivable foothold, with your fingers hooked onto a minute crimp, you know...those technically elegant moves, where you feel your whole body working in perfect synchronization etc etc...

[tomtom]

Ahh...
For me its that feeling when you're sheltering from a howling wind in a damp cave that stinks of cow shit and urine... massaging my crunchy A2 pulleys, looking at my toe nails that are now permanently coloured black after being bruised into ridiculously tight rock boots... I then take a warming sip from a thermos of black tea, raise my creaking frame to brush chalk away from small holds in a roof, in the vain but theraputic hope that this will give me that 2% more friction which will allow me to crush... Finally I pull on the too tight boots, squeak clean the soles, dust up my hands with some new chalk and pull on, splutter through the next two moves and then find myself in a heap on a musty smelling bouldering mat after my core has given up after 15 previous attempts.

I love it.

(forgive my bah-humbugness, a cold/flu that wont go away has kept me from rock for too long.. grr...)

[meatball]

A very broad question that can only be answered on a personal level i guess. I started climbing as something different to do. My sporting back ground is athletics and jiu jitsu. I think climbing offers a good balance between mental, physical and technical skills. Add that to being outdoors and the social aspect then i think you have a winning combination. Hope that goes some way to answering your question 

[matthew]

For me it was looking for that brilliant move where for an instant you feel invincable and weightless. That is a winning feeling. You don't get it often in other sports where your mind and your body work perfectly together. In fact you don't get it much in bouldering but when you do and it's combined with an amazing location and success it's perfect.

[nodder]

its the crack in the chalk.

[lagerstarfish]

Addictive? My arse!

I've lost count of the number of times that I've given it up.

[SA Chris]

It's the purity of quest - to break the surly bonds of gravity and punch the face of Gof.

[tomtom]

It's the purity of quest - to break the surly bonds of gravity and punch the face of Gof.

He really does work in mysterious ways!

[SA Chris]

curse my stubby fingers! God obviously.

[SpanishJuan]

curse my stubby fingers! Goths obviously.

[SA Chris]

Only Visigoths. (And Menhir Delivery Men).

[SpanishJuan]