"We did (fill in the blank) when you were in diapers......"

Not so much a mentor, but more like crusty old trad.

It doesn't have to be fun, to be fun.

After being coaxed into leading a climb that I didn't think I could lead, my mentor (David S.) said:

"Oh, now you're in the no-fall zone. Don't fall."

Gee, thanks Dave!

"I started climbing when men were men ..... and we nailed 5.8."
T.M. Herbert as quoted in the Williams Guide to the Trapps (Gunks)

"now Dammit...come back down that parts too easy"

Donini to a client in the ice park

-to me by John Bouchard "Luck ? there is no such thing as luck, don't ever talk to me about luck..."

-to me by Bob Rotert "All yah need to know, to be able to get up that things is... knowing you really want it."

- to me by Bob Scarpelli:
After he had coached my up a face boulder problem on a little Mushroom formation and I asked "now how do I get down?"
"I don't know I have never been up there before..."

- Larry Deangelo: "well, it certainly looks innocent enough...."

-to me by to many partners "quit your sniveling and get back up there your waisting time."

by me to a student> "well your always sliding a little, so just peddle faster, that way your falling upwards"

by me to a student> "the knee? oh, (with a chuckle glancing at cast) no that was alcohol, not climbing."

by me to myself> "shit..... it's sticking...."

- Larry Deangelo: "well, it certainly looks innocent enough...."
- Earl Wiggins: "a rope a rack and the shirt on your back"

From an anonymous climber. " I love sport climbing...I just find it uncomfortable having to tuck my balls between my legs all day."

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

sport climbing is neither

Don't test the system- and we'll probably be alright.

I saw Tom Frost at the first bolt of Country Club Crack and noticed that he had no gear on him. When I informed him of this, his response was: "We are not going that far".

"Remember, don't do anything dangerous..." Said as someone leads off on a death pitch.

"Have fun or get hurt bad." T. Hanson to any number of partners.

"ANYONE can clip bolts... not EVERYONE can place gear."

From Theodore Roosevelt:

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man that points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

"There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games." - Ernest Hemingway


My favorite non-climber quote.

A long time friend and climbing partner was talking about ratings with a relative newbie and he said,

"5.10 is pretty much the same thing as 5.8...the holds are just smaller and further apart, it's really not much harder."

I had a good laugh.

After telling him of my summers climbing adventures, my mentor at the time responded "You are getting strong and brave now. Soon you will break your legs."

"PPP" - Purely Psychological Protection - I call that "Psychopro".

"The leader must not fall."

In a demanding and stern voice: 'When on lead, I expect and require complete silence.' - presumably so he could hear the nervous violin effect.

and my favorite: "Shut up and climb!"

"Get your shit together, and pay attention to what your doing, OR SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET KILLED, AND IT'S NOT YOU"

J. BRIDWELL

His quote to me after I set up my first anchor on a Big Wall and he came up and saw what he cleaned off of.

Said to me after building a practice anchor on the ground near some boulderers: "Leave that there for a minute. Don't worry about them, they wouldn't know what to do with it!"

What's the difference between golf and climbing?

Golfers go, Whack, "Shit"

Climbers go, "Shit" Whack!

Unknown origin:"The holds are good - I removed a few, looked at them, and put them back."

My version: "The rock is good - you can dig your fingers in anywhere to make holds."

classic risk analysis

"It's better to be down here wishing you were up there, than being up there wishing you were down here."