The Spiritual Side of Climbing

Hoping this doesnt devolve into "is climbing spiritual or not" but rather remains a lighthearted thread for anyone to share their experiences.

The last climb of my first big day of climbing (six single-pitch climbs; not a big day by any real measure but you gotta start somewhere!) I topped out on Looney Tunes (5.9) in Joshua Tree, and between the amazing strangers I was becoming friends with and the most amazing sunset seen from the top, I wept and shouted for joy. Its hard to convey in words what this felt like, but I'm sure you all have been there, when the whole world is buzzing and glowing and everything seems more vibrant and full of passion and exuberance for being alive.

Had this kind of moment this summer after summiting Mt Helen. 1700 ft of climbing and 5 hours of rappelling so we didn't get back to camp until the whole basin was glowing. Pretty spiritual experience because of all the work we put in to get back to that point. That and we were pretty tired and hungry so I'm sure everything looked more beautiful than it really was..

Had a similar situation in the cirque. Warrior I & II and Warbonnet seemed like Himalayan peaks when the dusk light shines on them. Very majestic and regal.. It gives me the feeling of being the first person to be in that place, a feeling I haven't gotten climbing anywhere else. You feel so disconnected from the world that you're connected, if that makes any sense.

And sometimes you just have that absolutely perfect day that everything seems to fall together like it was meant to be. A day when you are so in tune to your surroundings and partner that time seems to meld into movement and the two become a nothingness that transcends any physical connection to the world around you.

I think climbing in itself is quite a spiritual experience. I'm really interested in physical suffering in the mountains; not only does it deepen you, it shapes who you are as a person, good or bad. A lot of people have a very romanticized view of climbing, when in reality it's hard and scary a lot of the time. It's about surpassing physical and mental limits, may that be on 5.6 or 5.12. No doubt that's why I'm attracted to it, as are many others.

Cheers

DavisMeschke wrote:A lot of people have a very romanticized view of climbing, when in reality it's hard and scary a lot of the time. It's about surpassing physical and mental limits, may that be on 5.6 or 5.12. No doubt that's why I'm attracted to it, as are many others. Cheers

Its funny, some people go into nature despite the harsh conditions it sometimes offers up, while others go specifically to seek out those conditions. I feel like most climbers, and I know myself, fall into the latter. The best nights I've spent out were the ones where the wind and the rain really kicked ass. Thanks for your contribution, that was really beautiful. While I'm new to "real" rock climbing I have been scrambling around the mountains for a while of my life and have experienced the "same" experiences you wrote about. So disconnected you're connected does make sense to me.

I grew up playing everquest and I loved the game back in the day because you could die and have to spend hours trying to get your body / items back before it rotted. There was real risk compared to modern MMOs when you went places.

I still play video games but all the modern ones have lost that sense of adventure and risk. Now I get it all from rock climbing (and a few other things I do, but mainly rock climbing), exploring out into the "unknown" where you know things can go wrong and you know what sometimes the things going wrong is what makes it interesting as long as you are prepared for it.

Last night, one of my best experiences climbing. I was all alone and was free soloing a short 5.8 and I topped out just in time to watch the sun set. one of those moments when you just want to tell everyone in the world that life is amazing.

For me, free soloing is very spiritual because I get in a state of peacefulness and 100% focus. It's just the rock and me and, for a short time, nothing else in the world matters.

We had misjudged the distance to an ice climb, it had a lot longer approach than we thought and we had to wade through waste deep snow most of the way (despite snow shoes), getting stuck and having to "swim" out countless times. Once we finally started climbing we where all sweaty and the wind picked up, blowing snow into our faces in strong gusts, freezing us during the entire climb. The route we chose was one of the least spectacular in the area but because of snow conditions we had to choose something "boring" like this. The ice was crap and I had to hack through 10 inches of "onion peel" ice to get to the good stuff, slowing us down to a crawl.

All the right conditions for a proper miserable day out, and yet I've never had so much fun or been so happy. I can't explain it, I've climbed in miserable conditions before and been just as miserable myself, but not this time. I don't know if I can class it as spiritual but it's my strongest climbing experience to date.

I know what you mean by that "buzzing." Moving fast in the mountains gets me there, especially sun up or sun down. Even just hiking a trail light and fast makes me feel very connected. It's good to sweat.