pictures are better than reality....

exhibit A:


there is nothing bad about this picture... i love it! but if we stop and think for a sec... does mike have any idea how many bugs or other funky-ness he just transferred to his receding hairline? we can observe this in effect often when look back at pictures of our many misadventures. but more recently i notice when i try to explain thing via the image. and always my thoughts turn to one man who has managed to take the cluster f-yuck of any rope system and make it have the beauty and grace of art....

i wonder how many of you are scratching your head... asking yourselves "who is this guy? who cares?" well take a look at the pen strokes... recognize it? any familiarity leaking through? no? well you suck!

okay his stuff isnt Picasso, but lets be honest that guy sucks too.... and i especially would hate to see any imagery he would have made to help illustrate rock climbing. yes yes, i might be interesting to look at...but completely counter productive for explaining, ANYTHING! im sure some of you have since figured it out where you know this guy, so..


yes thats right! Mike Clelland is that fabulous illustrator for the tech tips column. i have loved this guys work since the first time i saw it. his pictures show how to build any anchor i have ever imagined.... if i owned a climbing gym id hire this guy to make all my class material! spend a little time doing a google image search and you will find no other artist as representative of our sport as mike. thanks buddy! your awesome. do me a favor, make a giant book of all your material and sell it... ILL BUY! take a look at the next image...there's no additional text needed.

he does a have a few books available out with him doing the funny pictures. here's a bio from one of them:

"Mike has illustrated six climbing books, two camping books, and a "really cool" backcountry ski book. Mike never went to art school, studying MAD magazine instead. He grew up in the very flat state of Michigan and spent the historic 1980's as a yuppie in New York City. Mike was introduced to climbing in the last stronghold of "traditional" technique, The Gunks. Finding it impossible to ignore an eco-groovy voice deep in his soul, Mike moved to Wyoming and began working as a instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and doing an occasional cartoon for CLIMBING magazine. Mike is presently living in a shed in Idaho."

for anything else google him... he has a website!