My bet is Romm can't see any of these supernatural beings himself and can only see them reflected in the actions and reactions of other. Hence why he keeps dragging people into interacting with these things.
If so then he is really good at what he does and is a really effective researcher and...
Dude made me think of Ganger Rolf, so called because he had to walk everywhere because he was too big to ride a horse. The legend goes he was so big his feet used to drag on the ground when he tried.
Bouldering is a really nice hobby and good exercise. You also discover muscles you didn't know you had when they start hurting the next day...
That said, rock climbing is a really bad idea in a survival situation. Free climbing is pretty damn risky.
Dude, you don't drop your big confession when the person you are confessing to is clearly going through an emotional crisis and has just been raped by someone she considered a friend and mentor. Where's your bloody head at.