It's not since the fruitful days of such threads as 'Metrosexualism in fellrunning' that we've discussed a leftfield lifestyle choice and its impact on the simple world of bogtrotting. Thus i now proffer up the ancient Chinese philosophy of Taoism for scruitiny.

I'd like to suggest that the principle of Wei Wu Wei should be very pertinent to a good descender. Action without action...ones technique comes not from trying and straining, but flows forth with intuitiveness and effortlessness. It may be inferred that the feet of a technical descender such as Holmsey are not placed deterministically, but it is as if they are guided by the hand of Lao Tzu himself. Mr Holmes banishes his ego to the land of wind and ghosts, and instead allows himself to flow over the lumps and stones like the babbling brook. The monkey mind is eschewed as his state of mindfulness takes over, he draws on the inner stillness of his yin energy fields and detatches himself from all ego-driven outcomes. What will be will be; no amount of arrogant forcefulness will change anything. The descender dedicates his extraordinary ability not to himself, but to a higher power, to the Divine Presence itself; a presence which blesses his higher self and gives forth without charge or remuneration.

It's a pertinent subject.