Tree climbing is in again/ Grimper dans les arbres, c’est macho!

Who would have thought that tree climbing would be in again? The Globe and Mail says so.

Between the ages of 5 and 15, I remember always being fascinated by trees and how one could climb them. The structure of some trees appeared to be made expressely for climbing, with limbs positioned just the right way. There were trees in Prague parks and trees in various parts of France.

Ma mère ne m’avait jamais découragé de grimper dans les arbres. Elle me priait simplement de faire attention, de ne pas tomber. Idée qui me semblait absolument absurde alors.

Je remarque que l’escalade des arbres se civilise; on peut maintenant apprendre comment grimper. On peut prendre des cours d’escalade (comme on prend des cours d’alpinisme) et naturellement, on grimpe plus haut (40 mètres, dit l’article). Alors que dans mon cas, le maximum était de 5 à 7 mètres. Aucun équipement, aucune précaution préalable.

I am not a rock climber but keeping three points on the tree sounds very much like something one would do while rock climbing. Why do people do it?

"A feeling common among tree climbers is the wonder that you are the very first person ever to be in a particular place; you see different flora and fauna up in the canopy, and get a different perspective, like watching birds flying around below you."

It is akin to being on cross-country skis on an empty trail, on a weekend – just you and the trees, the snow and the cold wind...

Maybe Jamie Robertson has the answer: "All kids are natural tree climbers."

P.S. Recently discovered information on formal tree climbing, born around 1980. This article is worth a read.

This is what young boys do now