One thing that attracted me to technical climbing is the teamwork involved in roped climbing - alternating leads with belays and safeguarding each other's progress. To me, it is a wonderful fusion of individual ability and group effort.

On technical rock, it is rare for the entire team to fall, a phenomenon which seems to occur more frequently on steep snow and glacier terrain. On rock, leader falls are not unknown and slips by the second on the rope are almost trivial. It is vital to obtain a rock solid belay to attain any reasonable safety margin.

My deepest and most enduring friendships are with climbing partners, nearly all of whom have also partnered in SAR operations, which takes the level of teamwork and commitment to a still higher level. These friends include my wife, a marvelous climber who floats up tricky friction slopes with the effortless ease of rising smoke. Some of our best days have been spent on the rock.

Of course, you are depending upon the competence of your partner. Where I have found that my confidence was misplaced, I have had no compunctions about ending the climb right there. It is good to do some practice sessions with any prospective partner before commiting to a real climb.