M.Ru note: Murphy's Law original "If anything can go wrong, it will" was born at Edwards Air Force Base in 1949 and named after an engineer Capt. Edward A. Murphy

A rope taken on an ascent always will be shorter, than that one at the group had arranged bolted stations.

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Amount of vertical pitons taken on the wall varies in inverse proportion to amount of vertical fissures.

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A group with one altimeter precisely knows current altitude a group with two altimeters is never sure in it.

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It is impossible to determine a steepness of a wall, until you climb it.
While you are approaching to a wall - it lays, getting toward its foot -it towers, but after you start to climb it, the wall hangs.

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The day ambient temperature is directly proportional to amount of clothing layers put on under a harness in the morning.

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Chisholm's Rule in mountaineering: difference between prospective and real duration of a climb varies in inverse proportion to amount of food taken along.

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A portable radio set will break right at the time when you are going to prolong a check time. During an ascent a broken altimeter shows correct altitude twice.

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When the great climber to which you entertain a high esteem and admiration, thoughtfully looks at a wall that he has not climbed yet he most probably thinks of a dinner.

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When the Merited Master of Sports of USSR affirms that the wall can be climbed most likely let it be so indeed. If he is cocksure that it is impossible to climb it, it is very likely he is mistaken.

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Quantity of squabbles about any thing planned to be taken on an ascent varies in inverse proportion to its true value.

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The less a person knows about mountaineering the most part of his statements is clear to a wide audience.

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During planning an expedition only two of existing three parameters can be estimated simultaneously. Here they are: route, time and cost.
1. If you can estimate a route and a limit of a climbing time it is impossible to define a cost of your expedition.
2. If time and cost are precisely determined it is impossible to know what part of the route will be climbed.
3. If you absolutely know the route and all expenses it is impossible to predict when the expedition is completed and whether the route will be climbed in general.

Photo: Konstantin Vandyshev, Moscow