What's your story? How did you get introdcuced to climbing?

Took a friend on his first free fall from 11,000 ft. at some backwoods, podunk jump school.

In trade, he took The Wife and I on our first climb. 

The rest is history. 

It was a good trade. 

Jason Todd wrote:

My mom wanted me to play T-Ball.  I didn't like other kids and prefered "adventuring". She took me climbing, specifically making me climb an OW in leather boots as a means to dissuade me from such pursuits.

That was almost 40 years ago.  How'd that work  out for you Mom?

It goes the other way, too.

My SAR son was aiming to move up into technical rescue, and was practicing various things at home. One hot, late summer day, I watched as he was ascending a rope with Purcell prussiks, in our sweltering garage.

"That looks fun!"

"Wanna try? It's hard work."

So I did. 

Hooked. Hopelessly. By the beauty of tied cords and friction hitches on some rope.

After that, rapping off the tallest side of our local cliffs, free hanging. He wanted to see if Mom was bugged by heights. Mom stopped half way down to enjoy the view.

Next, learning to sling sagebrush for a top rope anchor. "Wrap three, pull two". I learned a water knot for webbing, and placed a big hex, before I figured out a figure eight.

Sometime in there, in that hot garage, he had me belaying bags of concrete.

And. Then.

Climbing.

Outside, on rock, in Keds knock offs.

I just wish I started earlier. Where were you people in 1975 or so?!? Now, it's a race to get what I can while it's still possible, pursuing those "first times", and convincing a body it's in it's best interest to work just a little harder, a little longer, a few more sets with the barbell, just one more run at it, try that high step anyway....

Best, OLH

I started rappelling and learning anchors with our fire dep't rescue squad a few years back. Just this year, at age 46, I finally took the family out for a guided day in the Gunks, and was hooked. We did another guided day at Joshua Tree, joined a gym in Poughkeepsie, and are all in. 

So I liked this guy. And he was just getting started climbing (toproping at Quincy Quarries). And I batted my eyelashes and said something along the lines of ohhh, how interesting. (Does it get any worse than that?)

This was back in the early to mid-1970s...My Dad loved to scramble around on rocks and took me and my two brothers on a number of adventures that, in retrospect, probably pushed Class 4 or very low Class 5. I remember some scary stuff with them at Vedauwoo and also the Camel’s Head in Phoenix. Stuff I refused to do at times. Then I got started in backpacking, and a Sierra Club family friend took me on a three-day trip and up a route on Baboquivari Peak near Tucson. I was scared shitless as he tried to coach me to “just lean back” into my diaper sling harness for the rappel. But I was hooked. Then a high school buddy took us to the East Wall at the Carefree Boulder Pile where we learned to rappel, belay (body, and with Sticht plate), and the rudiments of placing hexes and stoppers. The Royal Robbins books were our bibles. My first shoes were “Black Beauties” (my buddy chose the blue suede Robbins shoes...EBs and Fires would come later). Yep, it is indeed a wonder we didn’t kill ourselves, although we came very close once on Camelback Mtn in Phoenix. It took almost another ten years or so, and lessons from the Arizona Mountaineering Club, but we eventually made it up NWF Half Dome (1982). Now, after a 30-year hiatus spent in the cycling world, I’m trying to get in as much as I can before the performance curve starts to drop like a a sack of potatoes due to that damn aging thing. (Hat tip to OLH). 

My son had a "big brother" in the Big brother-big sister program. They would go to Vedauwoo, 16 miles from home, to climb once in a while. The big brother graduated from college and moved on. My sons climbing appeared to be over. A new guy got hired where I work. Turns out he's a climber. I asked if he'd mind taking my son sometime, ge readily and happily agreed, as long as I went too. I definitely was going to go and watch because I dont know this guy to well and I didnt want my teenage son alone for to long. We all met at the central area and hiked to the base of Eds Crack. I watched as they harnessed up, roped up and Bob hoped on the rock and startef climbing. Nathan soon followed. I stood there probably with my mouth agaped in total amazement at what i just saw. At that very moment I knew this was NOT a spectator sport and I was going to have to try it. I never said anytging about it for a while. I took a little class at the university anf learned about a harness, ropes, shoes and how to belay eith an ATC. It was scary as hell and I weighted a rope for the first time. After several sessions I sorta got the hang of it. The following month I climbed real rock at Vedauwoo,  got beat up a little, loved it anyway. Now we have some of our own gear. I got 2 Harleys that get ridden very little cuz I'd rather spend my free time climbing if the weather is good.

Briggs Lazalde wrote:

Is your son aware of your MP reputation? If so has he asked you to stop because youre embarressing him? Jk but seriously.?.

For craps sake, MP, will you stop treating us like children? 

Briggs, no real offense taken.

I wanted to add to my reply MP took down, that my experience is reversing yours. Climbing is the main thing, but it has become the gateway drug into everything else. I'm typing this as I walk to work today. Okay, I missed my bus, and, because Starbucks was a priority, but still... ;-)

So. This four mile stroll will go toward stamina for climbing, but also hiking, mountain biking, and, maybe, an Idaho twelver in the future.

If you ever get to Idaho and an embarrassing old lady will do, hit me up. Or, there's that Starbucks thing....

Best, Helen

Old lady H wrote:

For craps sake, MP, will you stop treating us like children? 

My experience in a number of online forums, Helen, is the ones that enforce a polite society are the **only ones that endure**. Every other one dies from the snarks and trolls that are endemic to an online life.

There is more than enough flaming and sniping around here as it is and we all get sucked into it and are guilty at times. But that doesn't mean its a good idea.

My dad got me into climbing when I was half way through college. The immediate draw was the guarantee of post climbing beer. After that first season in the gym (NE winter) we went to Yosemite on a nine day trip. I have since traveled back to Yosemite 14 times and also to everywhere else considered a climbing destination. Gym girls in skimpy clothes were the hook, post climbing beer was the line, and Yosemite was the sinker.

King Tut wrote:

My experience in a number of online forums, Helen, is the ones that enforce a polite society are the **only ones that endure**. Every other one dies from the snarks and trolls that are endemic to an online life.

There is more than enough flaming and sniping around here as it is and we all get sucked into it and are guilty at times. But that doesn't mean its a good idea.

Without trolls life would end.

I was working on a reality show with little people and we went to a climbing gym. Until then I thought climbing wasn't something that "normal" people could do. As soon as I walked in I knew I needed climbing in my life. Fast forward a couple of years and it's every moment of my free time, and my time off is spent traveling to new areas to climb.

King Tut wrote:

My experience in a number of online forums, Helen, is the ones that enforce a polite society are the **only ones that endure**. Every other one dies from the snarks and trolls that are endemic to an online life.

There is more than enough flaming and sniping around here as it is and we all get sucked into it and are guilty at times. But that doesn't mean its a good idea.

Point granted, sir. I suppose I should at least say thank you that the "this post was deleted" was used. That's better than just disappearing people.

So, thank you, Admins, for that. We don't pay you enough, lol!

My first inclination will always be to defend the speech of everyone. That wildass liberal library thing, you know? I also tend to advocate for the good people on here to police themselves, and I can certainly speak for myself. Briggs put up a sorta jerkish post, but I truly don't think it was meant all that badly, just a beer post, ya know? Far worse have been left up. Friends can get past the former, I should hope, and flag the latter, when needed.

Best, OLH

In 1977 was into solo backpacking in Pennsylvania, and would pull the little tags off my tea bags to save weight but carry The White Spider or a Bonington tome and read it at night. A shop nearby had backpacking stuff and some climbing gear, so I asked how I could approach that and the guy said go hang out at Stover. A scared up a few buddies, and we got some biners and slings and toproped all the stuff we could, which was about six climbs over and over again. There were taller climbs that would be awkward to TR, so we again pooled our now stoppers and hexes, slings and biners, and we just started leading 5.2-5.6. It was awesome! We had some rope drag epics at first, but learned...

Stover is shale, and polished and scares away a lot of people, but we didn't know any better and loved it! Once leading I made climbing friends easily. Mid-summer we went to the Gunks which seemed much easier! So much pro and clean solid rock! 

When winter came we learned there was this great stash of ice along the Delaware, we actually started out cutting steps...lol..without poons. Next weekend we had SMC flexible crampons, and two screws so we started leading these gullies that took rock pro and had trees and roots as anchors. At the top there was a headwall, that had to wait until we had five screws.

Information came from the Robbins books, and FOTH. You could not buy a Gunks guide anywhere on the East Coast, so we would borrow and write 3x5 route descriptions down. Sometimes I go back and do Red Pillar and marvel that we even found the climb our first time there, much less did it. My friend John Goobic found last five Blue Dick's in the US at REI in Seattle, and I was lucky to get one.

I'm sure instruction is great but no way I'd trade those days for anything!

Old lady H wrote:

Point granted, sir. I suppose I should at least say thank you that the "this post was deleted" was used. That's better than just disappearing people.

So, thank you, Admins, for that. We don't pay you enough, lol!

My first inclination will always be to defend the speech of everyone. That wildass liberal library thing, you know? I also tend to advocate for the good people on here to police themselves, and I can certainly speak for myself. Briggs put up a sorta jerkish post, but I truly don't think it was meant all that badly, just a beer post, ya know? Far worse have been left up. Friends can get past the former, I should hope, and flag the latter, when needed.

Best, OLH

My original intent when I set up the post was to keep it positive. All too many MP posts go negative from the beginning and I expected there would be some trolls amongst us. Don't feed the trolls they say but its fun to throw it back right?? so far most of the posts were put up as intended to share your story. 

Climbing out of the crib, climbing trees, swinging from monkey bars, standing on the monkey bars 'no hands', climbing fences, climbing roofs...

Summers spent in the California foothills outside Yosemite.

climbing a rock to go cliff jumping (age 6), seeing someone climb the rock face that led to the cliff jump, deepwater soloing the same rock (age 11, 20 foot V0?), soloing another route by the same waterfall (nasty piss filled 5.4 grovel chimney) 

Top roping at REI in the late 80's early 90's, bouldering at the Mazzones (now a golf course) in high school, a patch of rug and some sportiva enduros, pre crash pad era...

Eventually buying gear and some John long 'how to' books and surviving the first few harrowing years if ignorance and bliss.

Getting to work in a climbing gym around 18-19 years old.  

Some good solid years at it in Colorado, longer routes, bouldering, sport, alpine...

At 40, Now living in the south, near the beach and its flat as can be.  Just built a woody in the den!

Enjoying a solid level of mediocrity the whole time.

I grew up in Indiana and was introduced to caving by my older brother in the early 70's. We wanted to learn to rappel and ascend ropes to explore vertical caves and took a class in rock climbing through a caving shop in Bloomington, IN. I quickly discovered that I like climbing much more than caving . Problem was, there is not a lot of good quality rock in IN but I climbed for several years at Portland Arch, before it was purchased by the Nature Conservancy and climbing was banned. Rock climbing was a pretty obscure activity at that time, at least in Indiana and it was difficult to find climbing partners as I got older. I now live in Colorado, so life is better. 

Funny story- after a day of climbing, circa 1972, at Portland Arch, we stopped at a café in Attica, IN to eat. The waitress was a middle aged lady and she asked what we were up to that day. My friend, beaming at the opportunity to brag about our adventures, said "Rock climbing". The waitress looked puzzled and asked "Why are you climbing rocks?". My friend attempted to explain what we were doing and she finally said, "Oh, so you're cliff climbers". "Yup", said my buddy. "Well that's stupid", she said as she turned and went to fill up someone's coffee cup. 

Grew up in the flatlands of the San Joaquin Valley below Yosemite. Actually knew Royal Robbins just as the proprietor of a local sporting goods store... But I got introduced to the excitement of rock climbing free soloing (though we didn't call it that) the Matthes Crest on church backpacking trips. Took about a 20 year detour through surfing and away from the mountains and then, about 5 or 6 years ago, got back into climbing when the mountains called to me loudly enough.

Briggs Lazalde wrote:

Yea sorry ill leave you alone for now on. My comment Basicly said what ive seen others post on here. You have very very little experience with climbing and ask some ridiculous questions yet you post the most out of anyone and they are typically novel long posts. This is rude of me to say and yes negative but sometimes the world isnt all hugs and kisses. Some times you need the blunt truth to refine you. I think you feel as though you finally found a community to be a part of which may have been lacking in your life but you lose credibility when people put two and two together and see you don't know much yet have to eleborate on absolutely everything. Good luck w your endeavours. Hope you take it to send town.

I conveyed an almost identical message to Helen, to no avail.  Although it was meant to help her, she doesn't agree (what a surprise).

s.price wrote:

Everyone you meet...explains how I started climbing.

Be Kind. Always. I hope you send that thing. 

Thanks for staying positive and contributing your story. 

I would rather read a beginners frequent, sometimes inaccurate and always long posts than the noob who posts frequently, violates rule #1 and always trys convey they’re something they’re not.