Am I not cool if I don't have a PROJ?

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mike m

Trad climber
black hills
Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 3, 2015 - 03:00pm PT
Does everyone have to have a PROJ?

Do I want to climb harder? Yeah

Do I want to put up new routes? Yeah

Do I want to do the same climb over and over and over and over and over and over and over? No

Ten steps to step away from the proj.
1) Climb something easy.
2) Climb ice. You should never fall and therefore always send.
3) Solo, if you fall that will take care of the proj.
4) If you cant climb something find something you can climb.
5) Don't see it as a failure if you fall. You probably climbed more moves than you fell on.
6) Go for a walk, falling is much less likely there.
7) Aid it. Falling on a free route is failure but hanging on an aid route and getting up it is a success.
8) Quit worrying about what everyone else thinks.
9) Eat a donut. They taste good.
10) Lie and say you did it if the first 9 don't work.
selfish man

Gym climber
Austin, TX
Mar 3, 2015 - 03:05pm PT
If the definition of a proj is "a climb I cannot climb" then I've got a lot of them. Some are pretty hard, too
limpingcrab

Trad climber
the middle of CA
Mar 3, 2015 - 03:07pm PT
Number 5 is a great way of thinking! I like your attitude!
WyoRockMan

climber
Flank of the Big Horns
Mar 3, 2015 - 03:11pm PT
We should work some of these PROJs some season soon!



Edit: I guess they aren't projs yet, just more of the to do list.
steveA

Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
Mar 3, 2015 - 03:15pm PT
Hey Mike,

My suggestion is to try in get another hobby besides climbing. I feel fortunate that I have always had other interest, which keep me busy and productive during the off season. In fact, I'm far more accomplished at these other activities than I ever was at climbing, and hopefully will be able to do these hobbies long after I'm unable to hike up to a cliff.

I'm not giving up climbing yet, but as I approach 70, the thought does cross my mind. We all cannot be like J.D.
Here are a few items I made over X'mas, for gifts:
rgold

Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
Mar 3, 2015 - 03:44pm PT
Beautiful Steve!

As for projecting in general, I parted company with mainstream climbing over that idea, at a time before sport climbing existed and folks were sieging trad climbs. It never was and surely still isn't where my interests lie. There have certainly been climbs I aspired to, but I've somehow managed 58 years of climbing without ever trying an individual pitch more than three times. (Ok, full disclosure, I have tried some gym routes more than that.) So my response would be that you can have a full and extensive and satisfying climbing life without even a single proj, in the modern sense, ever. That being the case, I'd say mike m's answer #8 pretty much does it all.

Steve, at 71, giving up climbing crosses my mind too, but so far the thought keeps on walking. But after almost a lifetime of thinking giving up climbing would be unthinkable, I no longer find the prospect hard to imagine, and feel I have a pretty good idea of what else I'd do, if health cooporates, which cannot, however, be counted on. A day at a time seems to be the best way to proceed.


jgill

Boulder climber
The high prairie of southern Colorado
Mar 3, 2015 - 03:57pm PT
^^^^^^ Wisdom, youngsters.
Mike Friedrichs

Sport climber
City of Salt
Mar 3, 2015 - 03:57pm PT
If your heart's not in it then by all means don't ever project anything. But...1)projecting will make you stronger than anything else you could do and 2)you'll find more reward and satisfaction from finally doing something that you've worked really, really, really hard on than on sighting a bunch of climbs below your capability.
Batrock

Trad climber
Burbank
Mar 3, 2015 - 04:01pm PT
Your not cool BECAUSE you use the word PROJ.
hobo_dan

Social climber
Minnesota
Mar 3, 2015 - 04:10pm PT
A project and a tattoo? What is this some sort of mid-life crisis?
Next you'll be driving some sort of fast red car
Lynne Leichtfuss

Trad climber
Will know soon
Mar 3, 2015 - 04:28pm PT
Steve A, yes yo are cool. There are so many more projects associated with climbing besides route development. Diversify, look around, get into things like writing, helping with other peeps projects as well as developing new areas, teaching us newbies not only to climb but be super safe on the rock.
Or you can email Jstan, John Stannard about trash pick up. One can join groups like Allied Climbers of San Diego to help keep climbing areas open and work on trails. There's so much to do in our lifetime.

AND if you have some time and money I have a great project for JTree.

Smiles and Cheers, Lynnie
mike m

Trad climber
black hills
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 3, 2015 - 04:52pm PT
Hobo dan it's not fast but it is red and looks fast. Does that make me cool. Thanks for the advice Mike and Steve. I feel like I gonna puke if I see the phrase "you send your proj" again. Not everyone has to climb harder. If you like to climb just climb. I have accepted I won't be getting sponsored(it was a tough pill to swallow) but I still like to climb and will keep doing so even when weak. But I guess if I have a proj it would be Yellowstone Kelly, but I have only been on it once about 5 years ago.

BTW the focus gets 40 mpg if I keep it under 60. Kinda like my climbing. Just keep going and going at a moderate level.

Wyo, #bighornsthissummer.
Mungeclimber

Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
Mar 3, 2015 - 04:55pm PT
7) Aid it. Falling on a free route is failure but hanging on an aid route and getting up it is a success.

Paradigm Truth right there.
jstan

climber
Mar 3, 2015 - 05:42pm PT
It all depends upon what interests one. I did one thing I thought to be a project. Six feet short of the top I looked down and decided I would never do another. Absent physical injury I suspect most people quit climbing because they find something more interesting to do. One good reason to avoid injury.
eeyonkee

Trad climber
Golden, CO
Mar 3, 2015 - 05:52pm PT
Thinking back, I can only think of one "project" in a 45-year climbing career. That was Roofer Madness, a 7-8 pitch route near Mt Evans that I eventually did with George Lowe after maybe 2 attempts with someone else and a previous one with George. If I can't do something, I generally just move on to something else. I have no problem with this. I want to maximize the good parts about climbing.
Spider Savage

Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
Mar 3, 2015 - 06:08pm PT
do gym projects count?
Lynne Leichtfuss

Trad climber
Will know soon
Mar 3, 2015 - 06:10pm PT
Spider, only if you're dismantling them.
kaholatingtong

Trad climber
therealmccoy from Nevada City
Mar 3, 2015 - 06:28pm PT
Shrug, but then again, based on those standards I wouldn't be cool either. If one is to spend a few years on a slow recovery, climbing their way back from a bad car accident, it becomes a lot easier to appreciate climbing for what it really is. Ultimately, what does it really matter what others think?
phylp

Trad climber
Upland, CA
Mar 3, 2015 - 06:41pm PT
I have no interest whatsoever in a PROJ.

Mike F , it may be true for you that a Proj is more satisfiying than an easier onsight but it's not true for everyone. The climbs I remember most clearly, that I got the most satisfaction from were things just at my limit that I onsighteded, or long, fun perfect days with friends.

To each his/her own.
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Mar 3, 2015 - 06:43pm PT
Mike...climbing as much as I know you do WITHOUT a PROJ makes you super cool in my book.
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