What's the hardest thing you've ever done?

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k-man

Gym climber
SCruz
Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 15, 2010 - 04:53am PT
Sure, we've all labored over some tough decisions, and hard are those that deal with life-changing events. But for real difficulty, I think that racing bikes is harder than making some whimpy decision about your next job, or deciding if you're gonna get vanilla or banana chocolate swirl ice cream.

As climbers, we relish a good, difficult outing. And things get really good when we dig deeper than before. While nothing beats the physical output of getting stuck in an off-width with bad technique, I can look back at a few moments when I was really up against it. Once, being out on the sharp end on a difficult slab. The mental fortitude needed to keep it together to get to the next bolt was mentally exhausting, although not as physical as other types of climbing.

As for the hardest, I remember being totally gassed at the top of the Rostrum. I was barely hanging on, stabbing at the finger crack. Too pumped to pull trigger on the Friends, I'd push the pieces into the crack with the butt of my hand. An onsight was ten feet away, but my fingers were groping at the flared locks and my feet were blowing as the grip clenched ever tighter. At the belay, I pretty much collapsed, and tried to hide my happiness that the last lead wasn't mine.

It's tough to zero in on one thing and say it was harder than other things you've done. And for some, it might be hard to admit that anything is actually "hard" at all. Still, it's an interesting thought puzzle--to think about when you might have been at your max.

So how about it, any good stories about things that were hard?
bhilden

Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
Jul 15, 2010 - 05:12am PT
Driving around and around in Valence, France on Bastille day at midnight trying to find your hotel that is on a street that your GPS says doesn't exist after covering the Tour de France all day in staggering heat and humidity. And that is just one of 24 or 25 such days in a row.

And it is much harder for the riders in the Tour de France!!!!

Bruce
Robb

Social climber
The other "Magic City on the Plains"
Jul 15, 2010 - 05:37am PT
How about being happily married for 30 years? Makes the short, things of the moment pale by comparison.
BooDawg

Social climber
Paradise Island
Jul 15, 2010 - 06:56am PT
In the physical realm, my hardest task may have been waking up at 19,200’ elevation in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush and attempting to go to the summit of Koh-i-Mondi, over 20,000’, and finding that I could barely make any gain of elevation, even tho the climbing at that place was not technically difficult. My body just would not respond to all my best efforts and I soon gave it up and returned to the tent and collapsed there.


Or it might have been trying to climb the W. face of the Leaning Tower, it’s 6th ascent, around the solstice (long, hot days) of 1965, attempting to climb it in one day. Due to the heat, Lauria’s and my energies were sapped, partly because we hadn’t brought enough water. By nightfall, at the top of the 7th pitch, I was SO TIRED and VERY THIRSTY!. Spending a sleepless night in a belay seat, I felt some comfort knowing that there would be some water for a good drink once dawn came. What I didn’t know was that Don had sipped most of the remaining water during the night, making the following morning’s climbing really difficult, dehydrated as I was. Never was Bridalveil Creek’s water so welcome!


However, Mark Twain, in “Connecticut Yankee…,” correctly, I believe, points out that physical hardship or abuse really is much less severe than emotional hardship and abuse, especially over a prolonged time period. My hardest emotional times were during the 16 months immediately preceeding my decision to divorce my ex-wife. While there’s no point in chronicling those events here, I can truly say that I used that time to reflect on who I was and what changes I resolved to make in myself to become a better man, father, and life-partner.
Norwegian

Trad climber
Placerville, California
Jul 15, 2010 - 09:07am PT
armed with next to nil carpentry experience,
i designed and built my home in 10 months, foundation inspection to final inspection.
no tractors were used. i hand dug the foundation and hoisted all walls and beams with my climbing gear.

i broke a rib right outta the gate when i fell through the floor joists.
i kept going though cause my honey was keen for a home birth, and everyday her belly would report progress.

stacking and skining the steep roof was challenging. and the four dormers that we added as an afterthought stimied my framing skills.

this put me out more physically than anything else i've done.

university 'bout wrecked my spirit as i lived in the ghetto in my truck for 5 long years.

emotionally i've been most challenged with raising myself southat i can have a chance at raising my daughters.

challenges are where it's at. easy street sgot no love for me!
Damn this looks high

Trad climber
Temecula, Ca
Jul 15, 2010 - 09:14am PT
Bury my dad.
Branscomb

Trad climber
Lander, WY
Jul 15, 2010 - 09:43am PT
"emotionally i've been most challenged with raising myself southat i can have a chance at raising my daughters."

agree with Norwegian on this one...having a child (daughter) is the hardest thing I've ever done. I'm glad I waited until I was 42 to do it because I would have been REALLY bad any younger.

hooblie

climber
from where the anecdotes roam
Jul 15, 2010 - 09:46am PT
whenever i encounter, oh say a really tough vacuum sealed item on a hang card, or clean my windshield of greasy raven pooh,
or stuff a stubborn cat in a carrier, i assure myself and any bystanders that: "that was the hardest thing i've ever done!"

i can be really convincing, buying into my own declarations, and as a result some form of buffer overun has purged
my memory of any exertion predating my last battle with saranwrap in a high static duststorm
telemon01

Trad climber
Montana
Jul 15, 2010 - 10:08am PT

The hardest thing I have ever done was selling a riverfront property in Montana that my wife and I bought back in 1991.

In the 13 years we spent there, we lived in a tipi, built a small cabin, got pregnant, built a home, had home births for both our children, and raised our kids in an amazingly beautiful natural environment.

As the kids got older, and their activity and social circles grew, we realized that the daily 20 mile commute to school and town was not working for us.

It was one of the biggest sacrifices that we have had to make. Fortunately, we sold during a strong market with high demand. Our new property, on the outskirts of town, captures a bit of the natural elements we so highly value, but the pain of letting that property go still lingers.

Navigating life, learning about attachments, and letting go.

Good, soulful stuff.

Marc
Branscomb

Trad climber
Lander, WY
Jul 15, 2010 - 10:27am PT
It's like the Dead said "When life looks like Easy Street, there is danger at your door." Guess you have to keep that in mind when it gets tough.
Jim Wilcox

Boulder climber
Santa Barbara
Jul 15, 2010 - 10:30am PT
Terminate someone's employment
TwistedCrank

climber
Ideeho-dee-do-dah-day boom-chicka-boom-chicka-boom
Jul 15, 2010 - 10:33am PT
Recovered from prostate surgery.
survival

Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
Jul 15, 2010 - 10:41am PT
Hooblie, you almost achieved weeginess there!

I have to think about it awhile....hmmmmm.....this may be the hardest thing I've ever done.
Norwegian

Trad climber
Placerville, California
Jul 15, 2010 - 11:09am PT
the only thing between me and freedom is life.
ydpl8s

Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
Jul 15, 2010 - 11:49am PT
Working in Uganda in 1983, Idi Amin left that country in a shambles. We were paying $200 a night for a hotel room that had 1 light bulb, at night the giant cockroaches ran constantly over your body, we had to haul buckets of water from an algae filled pool to flush the toilets. There were self described "militia" everywhere with AK-47's stopping you and having you put your hands on the car while they looked at your passport. But, the worst was seeing the fear in the eyes of the people. They were like animals that had been beaten too much, flinched at every sound, leery of everyone. I worked with a geologist whose whole family had been tortured and murdered at the Malindi Barracks.

Most of us have no idea what a gift our freedom is.
Derek

climber
Jul 15, 2010 - 12:10pm PT
Watching my twin daughters struggle for life in the NICU after being born prematurely at 1 lb 14 ounces and 2 lb 5 ounces. They're 4 years old now, and completely healthy little bundles of energy. But for 2 months it was touch and go. The docs told me that they wouldn't have survived had they been born 15 years earlier. It was only recent medical advances that saved them. Let me tell you, the time they were in the NICU makes everything I experienced before, and everything since, seem trivial by comparison. I fervently hope to never experience anything like it again, but you never know what twists and turns life will take...all we can do is hang on for the ride.
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
Jul 15, 2010 - 12:20pm PT
That's hardcore rough, Derek!!!

Glad to hear they're fine now. Wow.....
Norwegian

Trad climber
Placerville, California
Jul 15, 2010 - 12:26pm PT
derek

i can't imagine the depth of struggle associated with holding a dear loved one's hand as they balance on the sharp edge of life. as a father of two beautiful girls, i try real hard to keep these potential perils on the periphery of my emotional focus. that worry, though, seeps into my dreams when my guard is asleep.

i commend you for seeing through those immense struggles. your hat probably fits you just right, now.
Josh Higgins

Trad climber
San Diego
Jul 15, 2010 - 12:51pm PT
The hardest thing I ever did was to support my now ex-wife while she was going through depression and she thought the solution was moving out. It devastated me in ways that I didn't know possible, especially when my efforts were all for nothing and we divorced.

When it comes to climbing, I've consistently pushed the limits so the stories could go on and on, but three stand out.

-Onsight of Mr Joshua in The Grampians, Australia. On the ledge at the belay anchors I was on my hands and knees panting for over 5 minutes before I had the strength to clip the anchors. It was possibly the most devastated I've ever been after successfully completing a climb.

-Onsight of The Totem Pole in Tasmania, Australia. I battled that lead for for over an hour. I didn't have a watch with me. Maybe it was close to two? It was a long time...

-NIAD. It was my longest car to car effort yet. I hallucinated, couldn't stand at the end, and had a mini breakdown on route. Good stuff. I'd do it again... Trip report HERE.

Josh
FeelioBabar

Trad climber
One drink ahead of my past.
Jul 15, 2010 - 12:59pm PT
Tip of the hat, to the first line of the above post. I feel ya bro.

The hardest thing I have ever done was letting go of the woman I loved and devoted my life to, in hopes she would be happier with someone else.

Many years of wildland firefighting, and 18 years of climbing seem light duty by comparison.



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