Usually I try to avoid using my blog as a forum to have a rant, however today I am choosing to make an exception. The internet plays host to an overwhelming cacophony of self appointed authorities; many voicing their opinions as facts, often on topics they know little of, and now I am throwing up my arms in defeat and joining the string section. Since February Josh and I have mingled amongst the climbing communities of Adelaide, the Grampians, Fontainbleau, Magic Wood, Squamish and now Leavenworth and yes, on the most part, this has been an extraordinary, uplifting and inspiring journey, there have been moments, however, that have been less positive. Upon questioning, some people have been quite surprised to hear that Josh and I both have, at times, struggled to find motivation to climb, and even considered quitting climbing all together, at times on this trip. The truth of the matter is, there have been moments wherein I personally have found climbing to be an incredibly frustrating and at times confidence destroying activity. So how did something that I initiated solely for enjoyment transform into something that had the propensity to frustrate and upset me? Quite simply, we, as climbers, have tried to objectify something that is subjective in nature. In attempting to assign a value to that which we have climbed we have successfully adulterated the value in the activity itself.
Why do you climb? Seriously, ask yourself this; why do you? I hope the answer is because you enjoy it. You climb because it is fun, correct? Yet it seems that the majority of climbers I have met (no not everyone), often will not have enjoyed their day climbing if they feel that they should have achieved more than they did. We have all heard people report that they ONLY climbed a few V3's and wanted to get a V5 this trip, or the like, perhaps it would be better to think of the fact that you enjoyed a few days climbing rather than let, an often subjective, V-grade destroy it for you!
You may retort that you enjoy the challenge and that is why V-grades hold so much significance to you. If this is the case, then why are we so quick to dismiss our achievements? So many times I have heard people talk of the problem that they have been projecting for x amount of time and then when they finally get it they turn around and say, "I ticked my project today, it's a V-Whatever, but it was probably soft", or "I finally ticked that V-Whatever, I can't believe it took me so many tries". How exactly are you supposed to respond to this? If you are proud of what you achieved then be proud! State simply that you ticked your project, that it was a challenge, that you enjoyed it; you worked for it, take the congratulations you deserve! If it really was "soft", or it really "shouldn't have taken so many attempts" then why tell people about it in the first place? What do you expect in return? Um, congratulations on your non-achievement? You are either proud of your effort, or you are not...pick! Or could it be that you are in fact proud, but you are simply worried that unless you justify the achievement people will mock you for being proud of it?
What does this say about our community?
Or, perhaps more importantly, what message does this send to those among us who are new to climbing?
I cannot answer this question. All I can report is the impact that it has had on me and the way in which I viewed my climbing. When climbers around me express that today they ONLY did a V3 (as an example) and that they are disappointed with this, it in some way makes a mockery of the V3 that I am proud of achieving. When they express that they ONLY made it up three problems today and therefore the day was a failed venture, it cast a shadow over the enjoyment I experienced today in the forest as I didn't top out anything. When they are embarrassed to express pride in their achievement of topping out a boulder of a grade that I have never climbed, it makes me question the worth of those problems I am proud of. Most importantly, statements like these shifted my focus from the enjoyment of climbing to the V-grade, and in doing so removed the perceived value from climbing and placed it solely on sending.
So where does this attitude come from?
I believe that it comes from the top, the middle and the bottom. Therefore no matter how you think of yourself as a climber, YOU have a responsibility to the confidence levels, enjoyment and perceptions of those around you. In order for the attitude of the community to change, we must all change individually.
I recently read in a problem description, from a published guide book, that a particular problem is "commonly climbed in sneakers"; what exactly is the purpose of this statement? To make those who cant get it in climbing shoes feel really shit about themselves? If there is nothing positive that could be gained from a statement, and quite a bit of negative, then why state it in the first place? Another fine example of what I am talking about is the problem description that I read that says that a particular V1 is a nice little warm-up...for who exactly? Imagine if this was YOUR project, what impact would a statement like this have on the pride you would experience if you sent it? How would this statement effect your confidence if you could not?
Perhaps we, as individuals and a community, could make a change and support ourselves and
those around us with positive reinforcement, rather than being so quick
to point out the negative? Lets put the fun back in climbing! Must we all take ourselves and our climbing so seriously that we
would prefer to objectify our achievements rather than enjoy them? Are
we all so insecure that we must cut down the successes of those around
us to make ourselves feel better? I hope not.
So the next time you top out a problem, before you race back to your guide book or 27crags page, before you tell your friends how easy it was, before you beat yourself up for taking so many attempts, before you think of the grade and whether this is within your normal 'flash ability' why not just stand on top for half a second and enjoy the moment for what it is? You have climbed! You are a climber! Ask yourself, did you have fun? If the answer is yes, then to hell with everything else, call it a win!