king line
n.— «“I want to climb hard routes, but I want something that inspires me” Sharma, 26, has the ability to climb just about anything anywhere. But he said he turns up his nose at any problem—no matter how challenging—that’s not also picturesque. “The esthetics for me, that’s the thing,” he said. “To find these amazing pieces of rock that also have another element. That’s kind of the definition of king lines: They’re big and hard and amazing, but they also have that esthetic”» —“Film follows climber Chris Sharma’s search for difficult, picturesque ‘king lines’” by Julie Jag Santa Cruz Sentinel (California) Aug. 30, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Dylan from Charlottesville, Virginia, was rock climbing at his brother’s bachelor party when he heard other climbers called gumbies. Dylan figured that a gumby must be the kind of beginner or overconfident participant whose skills don’t...
Chase from Jacksonville, Florida, grew up in Sacramento, California, where kids played Rochambeau instead of rock, paper, scissors. Why the difference in names? Nobody knows. Folklorists call this a choosing game, and while the hand-game itself...