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Why do you climb? 23-May-2015 At 12:05:39 PM Climboholic

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This whole fiasco with Centennial Trev is the culmination of my disillusion with climbing. Not climbing itself, which remains a pure and inherently pointless act, but the climbing community.

The majority of climbers see climbing as nothing more than an enjoyable pastime, but the climbing community is dominated by a minority of people who identify themselves as 'important members'. These self important people are motivated to varying degrees by ego. They are competitive, they think climbing is superior to all other hobbies, they have bolting wars, they spend a lot of time on chockstone, they think climbing is important.

There is another small group who don't set out to make a name for themselves, but look up at a cliff and find inspiration. They have an almost Buddhist perspective that everything is meaningless, so you might as well do something that makes you happy. Through vision, talent and boldness they have discovered most of the classic climbs. When they climb a new route they might not write it up. If they do, it is to share their experience with others. We all know their names.

Most climbers are a combination of the above three groups. Which type of climber are you?

This personal perspective is the culmination my observations over more than 10 years of climbing. Seminal moments include watching a movie about a teenager groping the same boulder for months as if getting to the top is a significant achievement, or listening to people talk incessantly at me about grades, gear, sends and the 'important' climbers they know.

One of the biggest examples of self delusion I've seen amongst climbers is when they claim to put up new routes to 'give back' to climbing. If you want to contribute then go to a track maintenance day, or pick up some rubbish, or bury your sh!t. But be honest with yourself, doing a climb then jumping on TheCrag to upload it is an egotistical act. If you truly want to be altruistic then you could volunteer to contribute to one of the many legitimate issues in the world: the refugee crisis, religious fundamentalism, climate change, etc. But accept the fact that climbing is inherently selfish and the world does not have a critical shortage of uninspiring, hard sports climbs.

When I'm old and retired and have nothing better to do, I might go on a grey nomad bolt chopping tour of Australia. I might even manufacture some higher ethical purpose to the endeavor. But for now I have more important things to contribute to the world.