Sing, sing and sing

"He had been told to sing for just one hour," reminisces Srinivas. And after one hour, he peeped into the side wings and pleaded: "Just one more piece." Even as Dr. Talwalkar was saying a firm "No", he had resumed. Mansur wouldn't stop even after two-and-a-half hours. "Talwalkar just walked on to the stage and switched off the mike and took him away."

"He had overcome the fear of death completely. The only thing he longed for was to sing, sing and sing."

Read the full article here.

Minishpot

Waterfall Cove
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Big Sur, California

Don't try this at home

This has got to be one of the craziest and most bonehead things to do, ever. Dan Osman climbs 400 feet of vertical 5.7 rock in less than 4 and a half minutes. Without a rope or any climbing aid. It's called speed-soloing, aka lunacy. I'm nuts to even post this video link, but I'll do it all the same.

http://broadbandsports.com/node/203

He jumps up for inch-wide holds 300 feet off the ground. Yes, jumps. As in both hands off the rock. Sick, isn't it?

PS: For the record, Osman is no longer with us. No, he didn't die soloing. He went trying to jump 1100 feet off a cliff tethered only to a climbing rope. The rope broke. So did Osman.

PPS: Here's a discussion regarding Osman's death (and life) on a rock-climbing forum. The comments can be extended to the ethics of free-soloing (climbing alone, without protection) in general. I'm not picking sides here -- your opinions are invited.