are you caring of the gradings?

climbing friend,

are you caring of the gradings your routes? Do you "just climb" for "fun" and you would not worry about progressing to next harder grade? Or would you develop eating disorder, obsessive training regime, and severe attachment to relentless quest for the improveing? So you may impress yourself and the others and maintain some identity to cling to?

It is quite funny yes to hear of many dedicated climber they are stating they "do not care" about grades and they "only climb" for "fun" or "inspiring routes." It sounds to me may I suggest, as the BS, since this same person has basically dedicated their own life, diet, free time, social life, lack of the sexual activity, etc., to improving at the climbing, and you may hear them shriek with joy as soon as they are sending their first 5.14 what have you?

I myownself am beliving the relentless quest for pushing of yourself and improvement is quite apparent as basic part of the "climbing," and I do enjoy myownself clinging to the identity of one whose guns are so sculpted they make michaelangelo look like the hack, and whose flash are so difficult and so bold they make your columbus adventuring across the sea look like the rubber duck in the bathtub, ha ha, ho ho.

all your flash are belong to me.

just follow your heart, that's what I do.

I don't care about grades. But I do care about climbing routes that are inspiring. It turns out that many inspiring routes are hard. So I train. 

I heard Steph Davis on a podcast (Enormocast?) a couple of years ago and really liked her attitude.

To paraphrase, she said ticking a certain grade or goal route was like eating a cookie. 

Everybody likes cookies, but if that's all you care about, it isn't really sustainable long term.

aaron hope wrote:

I don't care about grades. But I do care about climbing routes that are inspiring. It turns out that many inspiring routes are hard. So I train. 

climbing friend,

ho ho! It is merely only a "coincidence?" and you are not caring even one little bitty bit? perhaps you have utilized the climbing hold on every classic 5.8 multipitch in your country?

climbing friend Marqui D'sson,

I WANT TEH COOKIEZ!!!!! but your logic it is utilized in impeccable style, perhaps you may be wanting also at same time someother thing other than only teh cookiez?

Climbing Friend,

The gradings of the routes are only a stick by to measure how much fabulous my finely scultped arm cannons and back meats have become. 

climbing friend,

you are quite busy so you have to sculpt your guns at the office? 1001, 1002 ... do you hear me counting I do over 1000?

I think the important thing about climbing is that you do it for you, having a goal is healthy and natural. Frankly only climbing easy routes that are basically ladders might just not be fun so you climb harder routes for the entertainment... 

Aleks Zebastian wrote:

climbing friend Marqui D'sson,

I WANT TEH COOKIEZ!!!!! but your logic it is utilized in impeccable style, perhaps you may be wanting also at same time someother thing other than only teh cookiez?

You don't get to choose what you want (or what you like either.)

Fortunately for me, my climbing desires are broader, since I'm getting very few cookies these days.

But I still like cookies!!!

Aleks Zebastian wrote:

climbing friend,

are you caring of the gradings your routes? Do you "just climb" for "fun" and you would not worry about progressing to next harder grade? Or would you develop eating disorder, obsessive training regime, and severe attachment to relentless quest for the improveing? So you may impress yourself and the others and maintain some identity to cling to?

It is quite funny yes to hear of many dedicated climber they are stating they "do not care" about grades and they "only climb" for "fun" or "inspiring routes." It sounds to me may I suggest, as the BS, since this same person has basically dedicated their own life, diet, free time, social life, lack of the sexual activity, etc., to improving at the climbing, and you may hear them shriek with joy as soon as they are sending their first 5.14 what have you?

I myownself am beliving the relentless quest for pushing of yourself and improvement is quite apparent as basic part of the "climbing," and I do enjoy myownself clinging to the identity of one whose guns are so sculpted they make michaelangelo look like the hack, and whose flash are so difficult and so bold they make your columbus adventuring across the sea look like the rubber duck in the bathtub, ha ha, ho ho.

all your flash are belong to me.

just follow your heart, that's what I do.

YNMMV

The harder the grade you can climb, the more classic, beautiful, spectacular lines become available to you. My personal goal is to be able to climb up to 5.10a trad/sport on most kinds of rock/routes, in good style, and onsight (about where I was back in the late 70s before leaving the sport for 30 years). That would open up soooo many spectacular routes that I would be quite happy. Having said that, there are plenty of classic, beautiful lines no harder than 5.7. I love to climb those, too. If it is cool movement in a spectacular position, count me in. To me, then, climbing harder is really about gaining access to more climbing possibilities. And...since I am approaching 60, I need to get my butt in gear...the sun is starting to drop lower in the sky each year.

Aleks Zebastian wrote:

climbing friend,

you are quite busy so you have to sculpt your guns at the office? 1001, 1002 ... do you hear me counting I do over 1000?

Climbing friend,

The place of work is less ideal for gun-sculpting protocol of mine. Best place is the college bar or climbing gym where many nearly naked ladies are so that I might count to over 1,000 in the home language without the shirt. Screaming is also good to be noticed. 

I do care about grades, because they are an indicator of progress climbing ability.  Certainly they are not the only indicator, and obviously not all 5.11's (or 12's, or whatever) are created equal, but they do offer a metric of climbing ability.

That said, some of the routes I am most proud of doing were well below my hightest grade.

Old lady H wrote:

YNMMV

climbing friend,

what is it this is standing for? 

You Never Make Me Very-happy?

Your Neck Meat Means Volumes?

I struggle on 5.12a. I love seeing a steep overhang or ceiling with features that are easily visible from the ground. DWS. Crack systems. Arêtes. Dihedrals. Tufa. Knobs. I've been saying all year that I'm gonna send 5.13, but, I haven't been working in that direction. I've been onsighting hard 5.11s and easy 12s, usually because I'm drawn to steep climbing. I'm comfortable on it. I don't want to fail on it. I care so much about the endorphins it'll provide me to stick it out through the pain. But if I find a 5.13 that gnaws at my heart, be it good friction, fun movement, high exposure.  I love accomplishing things on rock enough that I'll be roped, solo, if I have to, to figure out how to navigate the moves. But to ruin my joints or risk a ground fall because of an R rating to say I'm a 5.13 climber. 

I only climb even numbers. If the problem is an odd number I stay away from it because I can't climb it.

Aleks Zebastian wrote:

climbing friend,

what is it this is standing for? 

You Never Make Me Very-happy?

Your Neck Meat Means Volumes?

Your Neck Meat May Vary

Should that not be a standard disclaimer for your excellent helpful posts for us clueless whimpering weenies/weeniettes??

Best, the ever humbled and awed, OLH

I am definitely in "camp 4" and I get really disappointed when a route rated 10b is really a 5.8. It is like seeing a delicious-looking cookie, but someone mistakenly mixed the sugar in the recipe with salt. There's nothing more delicious than being spanked on a 5.9+. I do have some trouble finding like-minded partners, so please get back to me if you have the same "crooked" mind as me.

I heard it's like eating fish heads and cheese steaks more than cookies.

No. I started too old, I'm too fat, I have kids, and I like beer too much to give a shit about grades. For me the inspiration comes from simply not falling off a 4th class 15ft scramble for which I've roped up on a silent partner to my sadly comical death. That and getting my wife to climb with me more than once a year. I can turn the simplest of v-minus-10 problems into the most complicated spaghetti fests of cord with the mere flick of 10oz Stanley against the veritable schmorgasboard of needless pins that you ever couldn't possibly imagine from the sublimely simple and empirically elegant devils lake clusterfucks masterfully displayed herein.  Grades? No.  Grades just mean i shouldn't climb there, because ill simply be ridiculed for my lack of beanie, presence of shirt, excess gear, and complete dysfunctional misunderstanding of both climbing and the uber sanctimonious culture that goes with it. But I'm liking the warm pbrs, so I guess I got that going for me. 

Trying to climb harder is easier  than adventuring?

So, we woke up early 'cuz it's going to be another 100 degree day. Starting off on in the black magic cave on the north facing side of american fork canyon. No time for warm up, "doyouwanttogofirstorshouldI" (I'm already tied in and my shoes are on). I throw myself at the first thing with the right number of YDS points. The first half is wet and slimy but the crux is dry and still has some of that prickly new limestone texture. After I self narrate three "burns" with a mumbled chant of "take..climbing..[scream]..take..climbing..lower me two feet..climbing..take..." my skin is raw but not yet bleeding and we decide to cross the river to the hell cave.

Calculating that if I eat just half of a PB&J... I'll have almot 30 mins to digest... and maybe I should tape my fingers... if I'm just doing a working burn anyway...

Suddenly a gentle growl fills the air and a splendid fat man on a Harley comes slicing down the road. Sun glints on chrome and the wind is blowing his beard to the side and whipping his t-shirt against his protruding belly. He arcs around a turn and out of sight, and I am left staring, with my mouth open and also the realization that I make bad life decisions. 

That was two years ago, yet still I'm hangboarding and projecting, maybe the question is not "are I caring about the gradings?" but rather "are I caring about quality of life?" :-(

climbing friend,

it sounds as if your heart desire the buying harley davidson credit card debt, growing of long beard to gently toussle in the wind, and growing of large belly to become this "splendid fat man" and development the heart disease by eating many meats cheeses and processed carb foods! yes? your life it is short and may be ending this very day or next,  you must do this, yesssszzzzssss ss ssss myaghhhhhhh myah myah mya mya myahhhhhhhhhhh