What is the point of climbing?

Play - a pointless activity where the action is more important than the outcome.

Q. What is the point of climbing?
A. Climbing.

Perhaps climbing is merely distracting you from an authentic life where you recognize that any meaning in life is absurd?

The point is that we are apes, climbing is in our blood.

I believe in Bold, Persistence - experience defines life - if there is any fixed thing (POINT) in life it is change - experimentation through activity allows for sensual stimulation that proves some form of existence exisits. trying all methods, when one fails except it - gain from it if you can - you can use the perspective gained from change in nothing or every thing or just the change in plain to pick another method to try but above all try. Something
It is as good a reason to join with like minded people ruled under myoptic thoughts
to get to go to far-off lands and see old and new things and kill ideas that are juxtapose to
The narrow definition of life as YOU Experience it. . .
OR Not
Drastic thread drift - I climbed a new route yesterday,
A rock climb I call -ONE FOR THE AGES- There are three top roped climbs that go up to a point and should continue but given that the cliff over looks the Hudson River, the New York City sky line beyond the water was reward enough for me
if all the people who pay to climb ( in doors & out doors ) within a 3 hours drive of the Tappan Zee Bridge that crosses the Hudson River from New York
were to insist that climbing be allowed in New Jersey,
The next & this generation could find an answer to the query of what is the point !
It - The Point is home to climbs also . . . go climb some rock

It gives you something to think about when you are not climbing.

Pavlov. My brain tells me that if I do it again I'll get more cheese.

"It gives you something to think about when you are not climbing."

Yep - we should get bonus points for remembering we have a job on Monday.

Frances McMeinenschnitzel wrote:Single pitch routes get you to a place 100ish feet from where you started, then you just come back to where you started. There is no money, food, or candy at the top. People seem to want to climb higher grades. But the higher the grade, the harder it is to get to the anchor. And the anchor is just some arbitrary spot in the middle of a cliff. Muli-pitch routes get you to a different place than where you started, but there still is not a burger king, starbucks, not even a water fountain at the top. In most cases, it is faster and easier to walk to the same place. Then you just go back home. I'm confused. Can anyone please explain why people are so compelled to do this activity?

If you don't get why we do it, its because you are not a climber.

sanz wrote:come on dude this is some entry level trolling. study some of the grand masters on this site and step your game up

..Ha ha.. yeah, I would not pretend to compete with the masters.

To be fair, the intent of this post was a momentary distraction from responsibility. With the cast of characters on this site, some supreme entertainment was sure to follow. MP did not disappoint! I especially got a kick out of the despair bears, conan, and various philosophical musings. Hope others were equally amused.

Trolling is in the eye of the beholder, but part of the definition of trolling involves sowing discord. In order to be truly insulted, one would have to take the post seriously. My apologies to anyone who made that mistake. I thought the sarcasm was thick enough.

As someone who has devoted his life to various pursuits "outside the box" I think it is especially ironic to reflect on what motivates us. For whatever reason, the idea of working our asses off to get to an arbitrary spot in the middle of a cliff face seems especially funny to me. ..And, I will not stop doing it any time soon. As many pointed out in various ways in the thread, the vastness of the human experience should not be underestimated. In other words, there is an ass for every saddle.

Thanks MP for the entertainment, and sorry if my alter-ego poo-pooed your favorite activity. Now, I should turn my attention to responsibilities so maybe there can be some climbing, abseiling, or other rad pursuit in my future. Hope everyone else gets out to enjoy the day!

FM

Frances McMeinenschnitzel wrote: ...For whatever reason, the idea of working our asses off to get to an arbitrary spot in the middle of a cliff face seems especially funny to me...

Didn't some famous climber say something to the effect of "climbing is the hardest way to get nowhere."

Is the hardest way to know yourself, the real way.

It is one of those things, if you have to ask you will never understand.

Blah blah blah annoying ethics thread. Spray spray spray...please stop.

Thread/

grog m wrote:Blah blah blah annoying ethics thread. Spray spray spray...please stop. Thread/

Ethics or moral philosophy is the branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. (the google)

Where was this thread about right and wrong?

If you have to ask you will never understand.

another quote by someone I forgot..."granite is the hardest drug"

Jeremy in Inyokern wrote: Didn't some famous climber say something to the effect of "climbing is the hardest way to get nowhere."

We're the conquistadors of the useless, right?

"I'm confused. Can anyone please explain why people are so compelled to do this activity?"

Well...ya see, what happend was, some of these climbers go through a traumatic experience in life, then they need something to get their mind off of what happend with a mission to complete. The mission is all they care about. It's like military shit, but for dirtbags who smoke weed. Carry on. ;)

ColinW wrote: We're the conquistadors of the useless, right?

I prefer masters of the insignificant. Thanks you added to my reading list.

Warren Harding:

"Why do people climb? How the hell do I know? Personally I dig another version of Mallory's statement. Like 'we climb because it's there and we're mad!"