1. I'm not sure I like the term hippy as it can carry drug use implications.

2. Rock climbing may come close. I remember one night in a pub in Sheffield where I couldn't even understand the conversation, I could pick up on words like "desparate", "severe", etc. but felt I was listening to a foreign language.

BTW, Tim, one of my brothers was arguably the most under-rated/under known climbers in the UK. I think his greatest ever achivement followed Ron Fawcett on the Great Orme putting up a climb of a technical rating of 7a (read exceptionaly hard - few could do it). Tim soloed it (ie used no ropes or protection) the next day.

Jon