freedom in the hills?

[j_b]

"The thought of approaching action aroused strange and contradictory emotions in me. I felt an immense pity for all the little men who toiled on in the prison which society has succeeded in building against the open sky, who knew nothing and felt nothing of what I knew and felt at that moment. Yesterday I was like them, and in another few days I would be like them again. But today I was a prisoner set free; and tomorrow I would be a lord and master, and commander of life and death, of the stars and the elements." — Giusto Gervasutti.

 

many of us have felt more or less the same way (probably with less gusto) at some point while climbing in the hills. is this something you have also felt while pursuing other activities that do not pertain to 'facing nature on its own terms' or is there something intrisically different about the hills and the freedom they provide?

[cracked]

[RobBob]

only one other place I've felt the same type of 'freedom,' and that's heading out to sea on a sailing trip somewhere. Just the wind and wake, the view of big water ahead, maybe a beer in hand...

[j_b]

"If the conquest of a great peak brings moments of exultation and bliss, which in the monotonous, materialistic existence of modern times nothing else can approach, it also presents great dangers. It is not the goal of grand alpinisme to face peril, but it is one of the tests one must undergo to deserve the joy of rising for an instant above the state of crawling grubs. On this proud and beautiful mountain we have lived hours of fraternal, warm and exalting nobility. Here for a few days we have ceased to be slaves and have really been men. It is hard to return to servitude." Lionel Terray

[scott_harpell]

cracked said:

 

good cracked... now what is this?