Editing William Crowther (programmer) (section)

=== Caving ===
The location of the game in ''Colossal Cave'' was not a coincidence.  Crowther and his first wife Pat were active and dedicated cavers in the 1960s and early 1970s&mdash;both were part of many expeditions to connect the [[Mammoth Cave|Mammoth]] and [[Flint Ridge Cave|Flint Ridge]] cave systems.  Pat played a key role in the September 9, 1972 expedition that finally [[Mammoth Cave National Park#Flint–Mammoth connection (1972)|made the connection]].<ref name="BruckerWatson1987">{{cite book|author1=Roger W. Brucker|author2=Richard A. Watson|title=The Longest Cave|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1zNb5T7ODEEC|date=February 16, 1987|publisher=SIU Press|isbn=978-0-8093-1322-8|page=299}}</ref> Indeed, even during his time working at BBN, his colleagues noticed that Crowther spent a fair amount of time doing chin-ups in doorframes, which apparently helped him concentrate.<ref name="HafnerLyon1998">{{cite book|author1=Katie Hafner|author2=Matthew Lyon|title=Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins Of The Internet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H6ZzQhM0vSYC|date=January 21, 1998|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-0-684-83267-8|page=98}}</ref>

As a member of the [[MIT Outing Club]] during the late 1950s and early 1960s, Crowther also played an important role in the development of rock climbing in the [[Shawangunks]] in [[New York State]].<ref name="Waterman2018">{{cite book|author1=Laura Waterman|author2=Guy Waterman|author3=Michael Wejchert|title=Yankee Rock & Ice: A History of Climbing in the Northeastern United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NUGIDwAAQBAJ|date=October 1, 2018|publisher=Stackpole Books|isbn=978-0-8117-6767-5|page=195}}</ref> He began climbing there in the 1950s and continues to climb.  He made the first ascent of several classic routes including Arrow, Hawk, Moonlight, and Senté.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} Some of these routes sparked controversy because protection bolts were placed on rappel, a new tactic that Crowther and several others began to use at the time.  The community reaction to this technique was an important part of the evolution of climbing ethics in the Shawangunks and beyond.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}