To see O’Shaughnessy’s Law in action pay a visit to McDonagh’s pub or the Royal Hotel. In these locations you will find fellows propped against the bar or relaxing in the lounge. On closer inspection you will see they are festooned with massive chains of snaplinks, an abundance of slings with assorted nuts, a multitude of pitons hanging from their climbing harness and eiderdown jackets even in the height of summer. Normally found in pairs they engage in passionate debate on the merits and demerits of their various items of equipment while downing pints.

There is an important corollary to O’Shaughnessy’s Law: The more time spent acquiring and discussing equipment the safer the climber. This is so self-evident perhaps it should be classed as an axiom rather than as a corollary. With so much attention being devoted to discussing the advantages of a particular piece of gear it is unlikely that the equipment buffs would have the time to approach a rock face but should this actually come to pass, weighed down with so much equipment, they are unlikely to get off the ground. It will be appreciated that this is the point of total safety, because a climber unable to commence a climb is equally incapable of falling off it. Thus, with impeccable logic, it follows from O’Shaughnessy’s Law that the climber who bases his confidence on an over-abundance of equipment, rather than on ability, cannot fall.