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General Climbing Discussion

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Grades, Egos, and Public Exhibiton 14-Mar-2008 At 11:45:41 AM tender branson

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Lately I’ve been noticing some strange things at the crags. I’m not a very good climber, but I like to observe things, and I can’t understand the multi month, protracted siege mentality, that has been adopted by a lot of climbers.

(Please ignore the grades used in the next sentence. It’s only an example.)

The way I feel is: why try a route graded 27 when you can't climb a 24 in any reasonable sort of style?

Climbing is all about fun. It's also very open; there's nothing to stop any weekend warrior rocking up to The ‘Jura and trying Action Directe. Sure, they'll fail, but they'll still have fun. The way I see it, there's no reason not to have a go at something beyond you. You’ll probably learn something and be inspired.

What is bothering me is the way that grades and the sieging of routes are being used as a public exhibit, aimed at creating a number grade and level synonymous with the climber. There's no doubt that someone climbing on the grey slabs at Shipley looks at someone dogging the buggery out of Equaliser and thinks "Wow! that's incredible. The strength of mind and determination to climb 28 is amazing. If only I could climb that well." Truth is, the person sieging Equaliser is no better than the grey slabber, they just realise the aura surrounding hard climbing, and they use it to their advantage. They will probably never tick the climb, but it’s all about being seen in the right places eh? The fact that they can't onsight 22 need not be mentioned.

Climbing is a personal and selfish activity, so if you want to try a route sixty times without success, that’s great, nobody will stop you. But surely people can see through the façade of the climber who is stroking his/her ego by trying again and again, but without success, a route that will make them look like a ‘strong climber’?

I’ve noticed that such behaviour seems to occur mostly in the ‘middle grades’, for want of a better term. Climbers in the lower and upper levels of performance seem to realise their limitations, and perhaps the presence of their ego, so why can’t middle grade climbers? Is it that middle grade climbers sense a chance at elite performance, and so strive to achieve a certain level of performance, in an attempt to fill an empty gap somewhere in their lives?

Thoughts?