Losing your climbing psych

Yeitti wrote:So after the best year as far as hard redpoints go for me last year, I find myself this year not stoked or motivated to climb. I don't know what happened but I hope it goes away and I'm motivated again. I had a personal best of my hardest grade ever last year and suddenly now I just don't care. I thought maybe climbing easy stuff could help get me back, but if I'm not trying hard I get bored. Has anyone had this happen to them? Note. I still love being outdoors, I'm gaining interest in fly fishing currently.

climbing friend,

do not give up on the grade chasing! with consistent hard effort you will reach even higher advance gradings on the climbing rocks, even though perhaps right now it seems distant or impossible. with higher numbers, we all can feel warm and justify the ridiculous amount of time money and energy spent on this seemingly pointless sport!

Aleks Zebastian wrote: climbing friend, do not give up on the grade chasing! with consistent hard effort you will reach even higher advance gradings on the climbing rocks, even though perhaps right now it seems distant or impossible. with higher numbers, we all can feel warm and justify the ridiculous amount of time money and energy spent on this seemingly pointless sport!

Never ending journey of building neck meat. Hymen!!! Or something like that

OP: go outside, have fun, live life, whatever it is.

It is not a college application, but I find a well rounded outdoor existence is way more fun. Refreshed and hungry when the next season comes.

I personally suck at climbing, but it is fun and let's my mind rest from skiing.

Yeitti wrote:So after the best year as far as hard redpoints go for me last year, I find myself this year not stoked or motivated to climb. I don't know what happened but I hope it goes away and I'm motivated again. I had a personal best of my hardest grade ever last year and suddenly now I just don't care. I thought maybe climbing easy stuff could help get me back, but if I'm not trying hard I get bored. Has anyone had this happen to them? Note. I still love being outdoors, I'm gaining interest in fly fishing currently.

I find that my psych tends to ebb and flow along with my partners. When I am having trouble getting motivated, I try to climb more with really motivated folks.

What ever you do don't sell your gear! It could take years to come back to climbing but if you save your gear the rock will always be waiting for you. You will be sitting around the house with your batch of teen age kids who are arguing about who gets to drive what car and you will drift off into a reverie - the warm touch of the rock, the nice breeze that has the smell of the outdoors, that funny psychedelic lichen that grows on the rock, the crazy mating birds flying by, the fear and knowing that you will conquer it, you know; FREEDOM. Next thing you know you will be sneaking your gear out to the car and heading off to the old climbing areas even though you are 90 years old. THE URGE TO CLIMB WILL COME BACK!!!

I hooked up with a couple dudes that were projecting 8a in Italy. That's a big hell no for me! There were some 7a's and a 7b on the right side, but the rest of the small wall was blank 8 levels. I took off down the wall to check it out. The bolts stopped, and there was this huge flake leaving the ground, slightly overhanging. I racked up for a trad climb, taped up the hands, took the girlfriend of one of dudes to belay me. I climbed that flake and used a tree to rappel to the ground from the top! I was so satisfied! I may have gotten the first ascent on that! Then, went to try the moves on the 8a. I broke the ice on gaining confidence in myself that day. Exploring the unknown. I've had less hesitation in climbing with gear since then. Makes the hobby more interesting.

This has happened to me about 20 years ago with skiing. I am pretty cautious as far as sports go, so I was getting bored on the runs I was willing to take and was not willing to do anything riskier. So I switched to snowboarding for the next 1.5 decades. I got my challenge back minus the risks. I switched back to skiing when the ski equipment changed and it became challenging again within the risk I was willing to take. So, perhaps fly fishing is that new challenge you need.

+1 to getting some other hobbies you are stoked about. I like to rotate between them. I've been getting into skateboarding and surfing. I'm almost to the redpoint phase of my training cycle - but after that I'm going to Hawaii to surf for awhile and focus only on that. Try to mix things up and keep it fresh, and the stoke will return.

I'm in the same place though it isn't by choice. I have a full time job that involves traveling four days a week, finished grad school, one kid in college, two small kids, marriage, and several other hobbies. Yeah, climbing wasn't my first priority in 2015. Hopefully this year will be better but now my phone is ringing with start-up offers and something about filling my retirement account sounds appealing (though not from the start-ups). Tough choices abound but one thing is always a certainty...the mountains aren't going away.

To the "save your gear" comment- remember, a lot of the gear won't be safe in 20 years. Plastics and fabrics age.

Im not sure if a full break from climbing is called for or not in Yeti's situation.
It seems to me that your reasons for climbing are very different.

I'm fully aware of the gratifying feeling that comes with achieving, in the chase for hard climbs & high numbers.

There is, for me, more endearing aspects, of climbing. The whole activity has a more lasting sort of satisfaction than success in that sort of singular focus.

The planning and travel, visiting climbing areas & National Parks.

I Find Adventures in every facet of going climbing leads to a sort of enlightenment for me..
That may sound corny but after 40+ years I'm still fully stoked to go climbing.

I like to go on trips both alone and with groups.
Finding welcoming climbers & dirtbag haunts across the country.

I was a local in the Gunks since the '70s and miss being there every time that the Gunks get mentioned.

Having GPS is such a great change that it makes some places that had seemed old hat to me, all new again.

Putting my skills to the test on all kinds of rock types. and forging off the beaten path. is still my favorite thing to do. Bush wacking, to boulders, Groveling up dirty scree cones to find new routes that are first accents for me. also never gets old.

I was a year round climber for the last 15+ years of climbing. When I stopped winter /ice climbing, recently, I was amazed at how much I loved and missed the suffering that goes along with Ice /winter climbing.

Im sure that Yeitti, will find a spark to return but to me it sounds like a re-focus is called for.
Never stop climbing, climb safe, climb smart, climb forever.

To this last comment Patrick Shyvers 8 mins ago

Patrick Shyvers wrote:To the "save your gear" comment- remember, a lot of the gear won't be safe in 20 years. Plastics and fabrics age.

I know what y'all say and think but .. Checking out local beers & bars, live music and girls, what have you, never gets old.
HEY anyone want to lead me up Directississima tomorrow? you can use my gear......

40+ YEARS, AND IVE NEVER BROKEN A SLING, TORN A ROPE, HAD A ROPE/SLING THAT I DID NOT WRECK THROUGH USER ERROR OVER AN EDGE, NEED TO BE RETIRED .

Not to say that I don't replace things that do wear out, of course I do and have.

Todays packs for example wear out kinda' fast in my eyes.

Gamma radiation , sun exposure is a real concern, don't leave your gear in the sun or baking car.

I ONLY CUT MY 1970s GOLD LINE IN 2 TO MAKE A SWING FOR MY KIDS A FEW YEARS AGO.

THAT IS A VERY TRUE BUT a piece of advice, REI and gear manufactures don't want you to listen to Is:

take good care of your gear and almost all of it will last forever.

If you are falling hard enough to break old soft ware, you have a lot more to worry about in the soft tissue damage area.

,Keep your gear dry clean out of the sun, don't factor fall,

Replace highly abraded gear & slings, but old gear should last you a life time of use.

Group, CLIMBING or guiding is another story and daily use also puts much more demands, on gear.

but after regularly climbing 3-5 days a week for 9 months a year for over 40 years my stuff is old and may have lost some elasticity but is perfectly safe. I double up placement s, use staitic lines and that 9ml.
Even my lead ropes are new and old, I have Maxiums, Blue water & Edelweiss cords from the 90s still in rope bags (removed from the factory coil and plastic) but un-used and perfectly safe to doink on for another 20 years.