Skip Garibaldi is a mathematics professor from Emory University who knows how to make his subject seriously interesting.

In this video, Professor Garibaldi explains fall factors, a mathematical concept critical to staying safe in rock climbing, illustrating it with stories of some of the gear-blowing whippers he’s taken while climbing El Capitan. Also included are a rundown of the so-called “ape index,” and one of the only indoor simul-climbing demos I’ve ever seen.

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