LOL
There is a bit of a story behind this shot that I just have to share.....
Last year while in New Zealand we had gone walking & exploring up in the rocks in the distance. On our walk back to the car, we could see these 2 people walking towards us with these huge things on their backs...and we were thinking & talking to ourselves, what on earth is that?!?!?!! I was wondering whether perhaps they were some kind of new ultra comfortable, extra thick mattressed swag or something. When we approached them, we stopped & chatted for a bit & asked what they were up to....and to our surprise they said they were going rock climbing up in the rocks where we'd just come from, and the things on their backs are big mattress type things (they actually fold out bigger than what you can see on their backs), are for if you fall it will provide a somewhat soft landing. We were really intrigued & found it fascinating...and were totally oblivious that there is such a sport/hobby. Once I looked back through my photos when we got back home, my first thought on this shot was that they looked like black Spongebob Squarepants (I hope you all know who I'm talking about here...lol), and that he must have turned to the "dark side" LOL!! So that's the story behind this shot.....hope you enjoyed :)
Another shot that is an older one & part of my "Wind-back Wednesday" theme....Cheers.
;-) After your spongebob squarepants story I will never ever go "bouldering" without thinking what people think of me, when carrying one of those bouldering pads. Funny, and great picture.
Never knew about these things either! but we get SpongeBob on TV here too and I can see how you saw that in these 2 walkers. The rocks and the scenery are quite spectacular!
How bizarre, I have never heard of bouldering pads, I would imagine they would impair the agility required for rock climbing and you would not want to fall on your front :)
I love this shot ... it's very cool and I can see just where they're heading. It took me a moment to work out what they had on their backs (before reading your commentary), but I did guess, as I've seen them being used in some areas of France. Never seen them carried though. Does look very odd!
@hermann Sally I don't think they continue to wear the pads when doing the climbing, that's just how they carry them. I believe they open up to be bigger, and they place them at the bottom of the rock/boulder.....but still, you'd want to make sure you fall in the right spot to make sure you land on it!
