What’s in the name?
When somebody makes a discovery or an invention he has the privilege to give a name to the product. When a climber opens a new route he will give it a name too. Sometimes the name is just funny, like puns. Sometimes it has a philosophic, politic or a rather superficial meaning. Always it tells something about the one who gave the name.
Stone monkey puts it this way: Whoever leads the route first, whoever paints the picture gives it a name and a grade, it’s the privilege of talent.
In the early nineties we were shocked to stumble upon rather satanic names. I don’t mean names like Black magic or Devils hook which could have been given out of a certain naivety. But names like Glory to satan-6b+ and Jesus was a terrorist-8c paint a very clear picture about the conviction of the ones who opened the route.
That time we prayed that God would rise up Christian climbers all over the world to open new routes for His glory. Little did we expect that He would use us a few years later to do part of the job.