"Both climbers and youth are inclined to self-absorbed obsessions. I developed mine to the fullest. For over twenty years, until well into my thirties, all that mattered was the next crag, the next route, the sheer thrill of movement. It was a joyous ignorance, and I look back on that period with a shake of my head and a pang of envy.

Through prolonged exposure to some extraordinary two- and four-legged animals encountered in my climbing lifestyle, I belatedly developed into a worthwhile human being. It could have all been different in other company. Climbing is a potent formative experience for those who give themselves entirely to its power, forging changes within us of which we are barely in control and helping define our engagement with the world. In a time when 6.5 billion people share the same increasingly crowded planet, our individual responsibilities have become greater than ever. By itself, climbing means nothing. How it influences our lives beyond the crags means everything."-Johnny Woodward. Profile.