Comments on: I Love Climbing, But It’s Kind of a Pain in the Ass

By: Jake

Jake — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 13:53:34 +0000

I really can see both sides of the issue. There are more factors involved than can be seen at the surface though. Some people are genetically prone to having titanium tendons and mutant muscles, therefore they won’t lose as much in the off season. It all comes down to how much you want it as well. This is perhaps the most valid point. Do you want it enough to do ten or fifteen minute sessions on a hangboard every other day if you can’t make it to a crag or gym? Do you have a plan for training when you go to the gym or crag, or do you just do arbitrary routes? Not that there’s anything wrong with doing arbitrary routes for shits and gigs, but if you’re serious about getting better, your training needs structure driven by a desired result. All the other factors like finding a climbing partner, acquiring gear etc. will come eventually… I hope. I’m doing everything else right, hoping that the factors I can’t control will come together. Oh, and as far as the kids, that all depends on how old they are. Believe it or not, kids love climbing. My six yr old sent an 80′ 5.5 last fall. Take ‘em with you, it’s more rewarding than it is a pain in the ass. Just trust me on this one.

By: BJ Sbarra

BJ Sbarra — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 00:04:37 +0000

Kevin, I think you hit the nail on the head. Even if you do just 4 30 min hangboard workouts per week you will get stronger. I guess it’s a matter of priorities, which is easy for me to say now, we’ll see what happens when some day there are kids in the picture.

By: Jake

Jake — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 01:41:25 +0000

I want to climb at least once a week. Ideally, I’d be able to climb two or three times a week but that’ll never happen. Between a kid, a job, and a ball and chain that swears she likes climbing yet somehow never wants to go or let me go, I’m lucky to get my once a week. What I REALLY want to do is take three or four good trips a year to do some multi-pitch trad climbing in addition to the once a week sessions. The problem is, unless you can afford traveling and get the time off work, it’ll never happen.

The cost of gear is one thing, then there’s the cost of using it, not to mention finding fun, skilled, and knowledgeable people with which to use it. It’s a lot easier to find in an area that has tons of crags as opposed to an area that you have to drive hours to get to decent single pitch outdoor climbing.

Then, if you get all this straight, you have the issue of not being able to do it constantly to be able to maintain grades you’ve worked hard for, much less progress. I sound like a total crybaby, but it’s true.

People that have climbing as a job, or anyone that gets to do what they love to pay the bills for that matter, don’t realize how lucky they are. Or perhaps they do.

By: Kevin L.

Kevin L. — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:34:47 +0000

It’s all about flex. Being a fulltime student, I attempt to make the most of my breaks. One or two trips a year really keep the psych high and there’s always that motivation to train hard for the next outting. I’ve found that continually challenging yourself with short-term goals and projects is a great motivating factor as well. This past winter break I made the most of my time by climbing a lot of winter routes and really getting after it in the local alpine. Now that school’s the priority again I’m pscyhed on training in the gym and progressing in the sport / bouldering realm. Even if I only get out once a week, I make the most of that one day by training four or five days a week (come on, everyone can do two 30 minute training board sessions four days a week). And I know I’ll be better prepared for alpine rock in the Park come summer : )

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:27:51 +0000

Unfortunately as a student I can’t climb as much as I would like too but it all depends on what is really important to you. Some people like to work, some like world of warcraft, others obsess over climbing. If its worth the sacrifice then its not really a sacrifice i guess. Too each his own. Good insight.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:16:53 +0000

This is an interesting issue for me as I’ve recently entered fatherhood although I have, so far, had no issues with a decline in performance even though my climbing time has changed from where it was 10 years ago. Ironically, I’ve climbed much less this spring and summer but have been climbing as hard as I ever have. Actually, I feel like I’ve had the best season of climbing in terms of difficulty even though the bulk of my climbing sessions have been short and close to home which is part of the reason I think I have done so well. I don’t have the leisure to “hang out” at the crag so I go and get my “business” done and go home to the wife and kid (although they are often at the crag with me). I have particularly found it enjoyable to climb with others who also share this desire, many of who are often dads themselves. Hence, why I think you can do a lot with a little, including in sports like running.

In running I am no where near my peak level during my college days but I still enjoy running reasonable times even though my running mileage is very low. Instead, I go out for shorter runs but I run hard and fast. Similarly, I feel like I can do the same thing climbing. I was worried this summer that I would “run out of juice” on long routes because I focused almost exclusively on short cragging routes. Instead, I felt quite strong on long routes, perhaps because I made do with the short sessions of climbing and still gained endurance with strength. To me, it just seems that you make do with the time you have, making time when you can but also just accepting a lack of time when that’s what you have.

With family, my daughter and wife are the most important things but I don’t see things the way Mark does in regards to spending less time climbing in exchange for time with family as a sign of maturity. Instead, I do everything I can to include my family because it seems natural to combine the things you love in life. Climbing brings me a form of happiness, as do family, and so when the two are combined it is wonderful. At the same time, we each have to make our own decisions about what is best in our lives. If my wife didn’t let me or didn’t want me to go climbing she knows that I would not be as rich of a person when I come home. Hence, she encourages me to go get my time in, as I do with her in her pursuits. In that, there is a balance that we find refreshing, enjoyable and for us, focused on an important balance of priorities.

By: Jay b

Jay b — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:41:44 +0000

You can always make the time for the life you want. I am tired of the “I can’t because…” peolpe. kids, work…no excuse!

By: Mark Regier

Mark Regier — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:53:54 +0000

Apt questions you pose, Beej. The last couple of summers, I’ve been climbing less and less. At one time in my life I would have considered that a tragedy– but I don’t now. It’s a result of a couple of things I think. First, maturity. Placing my relationship with Katie (read: doing laundry and changing the oil in her car) higher than climbing … may not make me the sickest climber on the block, but let’s not be Peter Pans for a moment. Rock climbing is great fun and sometimes even helps us grow up and realize how much more we’re capable of achieving/enduring. But Walter Bonatti’s philosophy on it has been hijacked by self-indulgence. Our trips into the mountains are less about getting to be better men and more about escaping real world responsibilities– at least that’s what I find in myself often, and certainly in the bro/bra (lame) climber culture here in the Wasatch front.
I climb less now. But I’ve got a lot more than I did when I lived out of my truck.

By: AB

AB — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:27:00 +0000

It’s all about learning to be efficient. Nuff said.

By: BJ Sbarra

BJ Sbarra — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:13:17 +0000

@Lee – Well that’s the question I’m asking, and so you’re saying we CAN have it all. I do agree most climbers don’t train very well, as you mentioned, though I’m super curious as to what a training program involving so little time would look like that could get someone up to sending 14a.