competition in climbing?

Post by **Crankmas** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 5:38 pm

I don't care what I think or what other people think as well

Post by **lena_chita** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:35 pm

One-Fall wrote: An example of the opposite. I sent a route that was hard for me, and Ray sent me a pm saying great job. It was a grade that is within his onsite ability. So where is the competition in that?

Competition is only interesting/meaningful if it is against your peers.

You can honestly say "great job" to your newbie friend who sent his first 5.10a, and mean every syllable, even if you climb that grade in tennis shoes.

But your climbing buddy sends a project the two of you have been working on, while you are still struggling to piece together the crux -- and all of a sudden
"great job" congratulatory phrase is coming out through clenched teeth...

I am not saying that it was Ray's intent. He doesn't seem to be that kind of person.

And it not necessarily the case in general for others, of course, but...

I have noticed an interesting phenomenon with some people-- they were good friends, full of encouragement, as long as they were the mentors/experienced/stronger climbers in our partnership. But as soon as I outclimbed them, the "great job" comments dried out, and so did the friendship.

Lame. Another facet of a competition, I think.

Post by **krampus** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:43 pm

ya hear that brentucky, you better start sucking

Post by **Crankmas** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:48 pm

someone needs to author a foolproof guide to sabotage your friends climbing attempts- no success breeds no contempt

Post by **bcombs** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:53 pm

I have some friends whose partners consistently short rope them. That makes it hard to send. Maybe we could hold a "subtle short rope techniques" clinic at Rocktoberfest. It should even things out a bit.

Post by **krampus** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:15 pm

bcombs, I will give you five dollars to belay brent on his next project

Post by **ahab** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:20 pm

2 steps ahead of ya kramp. just ask him how that 5th clip on super dario was last weekend...

Post by **bcombs** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:26 pm

You got it! There are tons of excuses:

1) Dang, this rope is coily!
2) That weird sticky rope / humidity thing is happening.
3) Sorry, you sat your pack on the rope.
4) Dang gri-gri.
5) Sorry, I'm still learning this Cinch thing.
6) You should say "clipping" first.
7) I'll give you more slack when you get higher on the route.
8) Sorry, wasn't paying attention.

Post by **Jay** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:36 pm

Competition, as long as it's friendly, can be a major motivator in pushing yourself and your limits. Unfortunately, grades can also serve as a club to belittle another climber and/or their achievements. Some people just need to grow up and chill out...

http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref= ... 5178938430

Post by **Spragwa** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:56 pm

I too agree with Piggy on this very small unimportant issue (I have to qualify agreements with piggy, it's like explaining that a climb is my warm up).

Seriously though, if I feel the need to explain that I'm coming back from an injury, or took time off or didn't sleep last night or didn't eat right or whatever...I'm insecure about how others perceive me. I generally try to check my desire to do that and just climb. But I'm guilty of it too. I only want my friends to know of my successes because I don't really care about anyone else. They share my personal joy. That's why I don't have a spray list on here, for example. But note I don't care about anyone else. When I hear people spraying at the cliff or anywhere loud enough so everyone knows they are a self-proclaimed badass, I roll my eyes. These are generally the dirtbags with no health insurance or 401k who I get to pay for if they get injured. Not impressive.