What's the most important thing climbing has taught you?

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Messages 21 - 40 of total 84 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
Daphne

Trad climber
Northern California
Dec 21, 2014 - 12:17pm PT
I used to say, "what's the worst thing that could happen? I could fall." My whole "jump into the deep end without checking out the water depth" orientation to life got me into big trouble in climbing, and I finally have learned to be really f**king careful with my body and with other people's bodies.

Climbing has actually made me more risk aversive, and that has spread to all the aspects of my life so that I am a healthier person today than ever before.

jgill

Boulder climber
Colorado
Dec 21, 2014 - 12:18pm PT
Jump to conclusions.


;>)
hellroaring

Trad climber
San Francisco
Dec 21, 2014 - 12:33pm PT
There r no guarantees...other than u better be focused on the task at hand or else...
MisterE

Gym climber
Bishop, CA
Dec 21, 2014 - 12:47pm PT
That I really do love to dance, just not on a horizontal surface.
Ksolem

Trad climber
Monrovia, California
Dec 21, 2014 - 12:51pm PT
Don't let go.
TWP

Trad climber
Mancos, CO
Dec 21, 2014 - 02:46pm PT
No commitment; no accomplishment.
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Dec 21, 2014 - 02:54pm PT
I don't want to be extruded through a carabiner.

edit: and wear a helmet even when belaying,
hooblie

climber
from out where the anecdotes roam
Dec 21, 2014 - 03:08pm PT
the planet tolerates my antics in her uniquely dispassionate way ... so i effuse: this is a full on affair!
Gary

Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
Dec 21, 2014 - 03:14pm PT
It's all about the team.
Lorenzo

Trad climber
Oregon
Dec 21, 2014 - 04:10pm PT
The list of people I'm willing to climb with has shrunk way back.
guido

Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
Dec 21, 2014 - 04:11pm PT
To go sailing.
steve s

Trad climber
eldo
Dec 21, 2014 - 04:49pm PT
That work SUCKS! Now puke!
k-man

Gym climber
SCruz
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 21, 2014 - 05:51pm PT
That when your feet are 10' above your last pro, you're gonna fall farther than you'd imagined.
Charlie B

Social climber
Santa Rosa, Ca
Dec 21, 2014 - 05:56pm PT
That climbing girls have better bodies than snowboard girls.
stunewberry

Trad climber
Spokane, WA
Dec 21, 2014 - 05:59pm PT
"Climbing would be a great, truly wonderful thing if it weren't for all that damn climbing." — John Ohrenschall
Mark Force

Trad climber
Cave Creek, AZ
Dec 21, 2014 - 06:09pm PT
That it's more important to be clear about my weaknesses than my strengths and to make sure to always pay attention!

Edit: and, I'm not nearly as tough as I wish I was!
tradmanclimbs

Ice climber
Pomfert VT
Dec 21, 2014 - 06:27pm PT
Chicks dig rock stars :)
Bushman

Social climber
The island of Tristan da Cunha
Dec 21, 2014 - 06:28pm PT
There is no easy answer for me to that question but here goes.

Along with the obvious confrontations with my own mortality and with that of friends and close family members (coming close to and facing death), it has taught me that the trust and loyalty I developed with my best climbing partners could also be extended to family and friends outside of climbing life.

Before and during my early climbing years I had problems with trusting people and cultivating lasting friendships. It was more than just accomplishing some of the goals that I set for myself in climbing whereby I finally began to cultivate a sense of self worth, it was also by realizing that I needed to begin to practice some selflessness. I began to realize I had no true understanding of the word, and it did not come to me naturally. Climbing taught me some, but beyond climbing, experiencing adversity and seeing the suffering of others has taught me more.

In climbing and in life my ego has also served as a double edged sword, spurring me on towards personal achievements, but at the same time rendering me oblivious to the feelings and suffering of others.

Apart from all this, climbing has taught me that we all have enormous untapped potential for extreme acts of courage, perseverance, and kindness that we might otherwise be unaware of.

Of course age is the great equalizer, teaching me every day that as much as I think I know I really don't know sh#t, that there will always me more to learn, and that when I've stopped learning I've stopped living.
climbski2

Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
Dec 21, 2014 - 06:42pm PT
A good plan with good gear even takes care of problems you were not aware of.

and then..Sometimes you just have to go for it. There are no guarantees.
Charlie D.

Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
Dec 21, 2014 - 07:20pm PT
Climbing has taught me two things:

1. How to suffer with grace.
2. Skiing is much more fun and not as continuously serious.
Messages 21 - 40 of total 84 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
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