Scared to talk to soloists?

Keen Butterworth wrote: The thing about Boulder is it's a reflection of the country as a whole.

I was thinking about it and figured I better call myself out on this one before someone else does. When I say Boulder is a reflection of the country as a whole, I mean the climbing population, not the general population. The general population of Boulder is definitely far more educated and liberal than the general population of the country as a whole. That's not an opinion. There have been several census reports that show there are more Masters, PhDs, etc., here per capita than any other city in the country. There are PhDs working as bartenders in this town. So in that sense, I suppose Boulder is probably more snooty than most places. I just meant the climbing population.

ooh yeah, someone should have called you on that. Is that like when you slip but catch yourself before weighting the rope? :)

Whew, yeah... no one saw that right? It's still an onsight? I tell myself I'm not going to get caught up in these discussions, but I get soooo sick of the Boulder bashing, when really, I mean climbers are usually a bunch of privileged, self indulgent people no matter where you go, right? Just try to be nice people.

Chris you just need to move to Dallas where they value all things big headed.

OK, fair enough. I generally have no complaint with climbers at Boulder crags; I bump into way more friendlies than unfriendlies, and obviously most are not from Boulder, anyway.

For whatever reason, though, I've bumped into far more haughty non-greeters on Flatiron hiking trails than anywhere else...and often people middle aged or older who certainly don't look like climbers. Not that every passing needs a greeting, but nowhere else do I remember the frequent experience of saying "Hi" and getting a glance at most in return.

EDIT: Funny, JC.

Keen Butterworth wrote: There are PhDs working as bartenders in this town. So in that sense, I suppose Boulder is probably more snooty than most places.

Slow down there son. Just what exactly do you mean by this?

EDIT: And yes Shawn, I'll definitely take that bet as long as we're talking about hikers around Chautauqua in the summer.

Maybe you win. Maybe they're rich, snooty tourists and I draw the circular conclusion that their attitude shows they're from Boulder. Funny.

Richard, I have a matter of academic commerce to discuss. When may I buy you breakfast or lunch?

No offense to PhDs working as bartenders or educated and liberal people in general. Just trying to relate to the masses that think Boulder is a snooty town. I've been around plenty of Professors in my time, my dad is one of them, and they do generally act like they are smarter than the rest of us, because they generally are.

Keen Butterworth wrote:I've been around plenty of Professors in my time, my dad is one of them, and they do generally act like they are smarter than the rest of us, because they generally are.

Don't kid yourself...

Fascinating exchange. Radcliffe clearly is one of the sharper pins on the rack. I'm curious if his demurral rests on the smart people he knows that aren't academics, or on the academics he knows that aren't smart...

Two points:

The blank, fish stare that you get from some folks happens all over, not just in Boulder. I've noticed the very same thing hiking in the Valley. I always give a nice "hi" or "howdy", and lots of folks just stare or mumble back. Pretty likely all of those folks weren't from Boulder.

Second, I think the assertion that folks from Boulder are snooty needs to be weighed against the vibe that non-Boulderites are projecting. Most of the opinions in this thread seem to come from the perspective that they themselves are not projecting anything other than a warm, friendly vibe and that it's always the OTHER person that's the problem. Like most things, I suspect the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Fat Dad wrote:Second, I think the assertion that folks from Boulder are snooty needs to be weighed against the vibe that non-Boulderites are projecting. Most of the opinions in this thread seem to come from the perspective that they themselves are not projecting anything other than a warm, friendly vibe and that it's always the OTHER person that's the problem. Like most things, I suspect the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Very astute observation.

Shawn Mitchell wrote:curious if his demurral rests on the smart people he knows that aren't academics, or on the academics he knows that aren't smart...

No comment, RR?

Shawn Mitchell wrote: No comment, RR?

I was trying to come up with a pithy retort, but the problem is I don't know any smart people. Well, with the exception of my dog Roman. Of course, he's not really a person, but he is smart.

It's kind of fun to infer the mental state of some climber another person ran across while free soloing and thus uncover some sort of societal attitude towards soloists in general. But you do realize this is all wankery.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

So the snooty people you meet in Boulder are the tourists, and the locals are all warm and friendly right? Good One.

I don't think it's because everyone in Boulder are jerks...far from it. If you hike Chuataqua on a regular basis and live in Boulder maybe you just get used to being ignored...soon enough you are ignoring other people. I dunno, but the hiking scene has struck me more than once as kinda rude.

I am pretty sure it's not me....I don't get to hike there that often and usually when I do I am lovin it....If I am lovin it why would I be rude? I am guessing most tourists are lovin it too...why would they be rude?

Sounds like a typical Boulderite response.

If you want to talk about climbers lets talk about the BRC or the Spot. Tons of friendlies there....Guessing they are all tourists too.

Agreed Kevin. I mean, you run into literally dozens upon dozens of people on Flatiron hiking trails. After 30-40 hi, hello, how-are-yas you kind of just want to stick to the conversation with your hiking partner or just let your thoughts drift if you are alone. Way, way out in the backcountry where a chance encounter with another party is rare, one tends to be a lot more apt to say hello.

Ever been to the Whole Foods on Pearl on a busy Sat? It's like "Thunder Dome" in there!

Kevin Stricker wrote:I dunno, but the hiking scene [in Boulder] has struck me more than once as kinda rude.

Why would it be anything but rude? All the experts have voiced their opinions and there's a clear consensus: Boulder in general is rude and elitist.