Fab's Friday Field Notes
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Reading the Rock
Before you climb, you trust the topo. On 15 June, NHS England admitted the topo for its most sensitive patient data was wrong: suppliers hold standing access the public was told did not exist. Read…
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The Move You Don’t Make
There's a moment on every climb where the obvious hold leads nowhere. Anthropic built the most capable AI in history — and didn't release it. Red lines aren't weaknesses. They're the route.
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Week 13 — The Signal
Advising scales. Building doesn't. In Week 13 I'm wrestling with the shift from fractional advisor to committed builder — and what Anthropic's $400M Coefficient Bio acquisition tells us about why people and integration are the…
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A gang isn’t built — it’s earned
I didn't always hold the line — sometimes I moved with the room, called it pragmatism. The ethical line isn't abstract; it's heavy. And it teaches you one thing the easy choices never do: how…
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Mapping
I don’t map routes this time — I map ideas. With attention, not certainty. After injury, after failure, the question is never whether you can climb again. It’s whether you still want to. I still…
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Showing Up, Gently
Fab’s Friday Field Notes (Saturday Edition) These notes are a day late. Yesterday was full, ride, work, climbing, family, friends. In that order. Mostly. Sometimes the best thing you can do is let the week…
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Reading the Terrain, When Expertise Contradicts Reality
Fab’s Friday Field Notes We had one of our climbing friends over for dinner this week. Beautiful person, exceptional climber, but suffering right now for reasons that have nothing to do with climbing. We didn’t…
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The Adventure Starts at Home
Fab’s Friday Field Notes This week reminded me of something I learned decades ago on la grande cresta with Alessandro Gogna and Marco Milani – that the outdoors doesn’t require epic journeys to distant peaks.…
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The Friends We’re Losing
Fab’s Friday Field Notes Note: Publishing Sunday instead of Friday – the whole family caught some bug this week. Which is itself a reminder: presence sometimes means being sick together, not performing productivity. I’ve been…
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The Discomfort Zone
Fab’s Friday Field Notes – November 22, 2025 by Fabrizio de Liberali, Southampton, UK Tired fingers typing this after yesterday’s session with Richard and Andy. That steep 6c+ didn’t go until the third attempt, a…
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