How do you know you are hopelessly hooked on climbing?

When you push your girlfriend off a cliff cause you and your friend want to keep climbing and she wants to go home.

john strand wrote: Your hooked when you reach for your chalk bag before picking up a grocery item

Or when you come out of a 10 minute shower and your skin looks like it's melting off.

Tom Sherman wrote: Climbing solves your life's problems, at least it does in your head.

But all life's problems are in your head, so I guess that works?

Mark Says wrote:

When your girlfriend says, "tie me up" so you do her figure 8 for her and check her harness, and then she sends it.

This is so pure 

I have been reading this thread, snd you guys/gals totally rock!! 

How about if you build a practice wall in your livingroom?

Put up a slack line through the middle of your living room so if you are watching TV you can practice your balance.

when you pass the double nickel and still want it bad

When you watch the weather forecast daily and keep a calendar of your entire year's planned climbing trips.  And every holiday and day off involves a climbing trip.  And you buy a camper van and start living in it so you can climb all the time.

From a recent trip to City of Rocks:

1. When you are driving on the freeway, pass what is clearly a dirt bag mobile replete with stickers, honk, and hope they see your stickers and understand your mere Honda is also carting a climber. They wave back, you wonder where they're headed....what they ​get to climb....

2. When you see that your knee looks like this:

And smile because your noob self musta put in a good "try hard" and you're feeling pleased with yourself, but wait!! Then you see what your fellow climber comes back to the campsite with.....

And are jealous that they found a nifty chimney to grovel up.

Best, Helen

Sorry, what about being hooked on climbing is hopeless?

keithconn wrote: When reading threads like this is truly comforting and reassuring. When you teach your 8 yr old to belay her brother so you can climb your own routes. When you cancel doctor appointments, birthday parties, play dates to extend the road trip. When you (as a couple) decide to extend the garage climbing wall instead of update the kids rooms. Hike the bottom of the cliff on a day off and feel like a junkie. Spend the drive home from the current trip booking the next trip. Planning next summers big trip this summer. Think everyone who doesn't climb is a complete bore and taking up valuable space in the world. Have legit fantasies about pulling the kids out of school and living out of an RV ... And can't understand why people think it's that bizarre. Belaying with wife onto deck railing to practice swapping leads. Realizing this list could go on forever and I need to get some work done.

You have that RV life yet?

mountainhick wrote: Sorry, what about being hooked on climbing is hopeless?

True. It's only "hopeless" if I, the OP, ever aspire to going back to being a "normal" old lady who works in a library, gardens and has too many cats. Down to three cats and may never see the third one again if I don't get the lawn mowed, so much for those two, and last day at work is three weeks from Friday, wahoo! 

So nope. Joyfully addicted and full of hope it's forever! ;-)

H.

Old lady H wrote:

True. It's only "hopeless" if I, the OP, ever aspire to going back to being a "normal" old lady who works in a library, gardens and has too many cats. Down to three cats and may never see the third one again if I don't get the lawn mowed, so much for those two, and last day at work is three weeks from Friday, wahoo! 

So nope. Joyfully addicted and full of hope it's forever! ;-)

H.

So rad to hear that H, it takes a special kind of being to dedicate themselves fully to this drug

When you are very tired and sleepy and need to get up early but instead of getting into bed you actually sit on the floor next to it and browse MP endlessly at 11:30pm.

When you leave your family for a weekend without hesitation to go spend time with your climber friends outdoors.

When you do Snake Dyke and start thinking WHEN WILL I GO BACK on the very next day.

When you live in coastal North Carolina, 5 hours from any real rock, build a woody in your downstairs, and keep looking at MP even though you haven't climbed real rock in years...

TBlom wrote: When you live in coastal North Carolina, 5 hours from any real rock, build a woody in your downstairs, and keep looking at MP even though you haven't climbed real rock in years...

Oh, this is heartbreaking!!! Come visit us in California and let's go climb some rock!

For my cold hearted brethren:

When you've climbed a total of three pitches of ice from three trips in two years looking for ice, and now own two sets of ice tools, a rope just for ice, and ice screws you have no idea how to use.

When you snowshoe for the first time in deep, postholey powder a few days before your 63rd birthday because rumour says ice is in at City of Rocks.

When you realize every piece of outerwear you own is part of your layering system for ice.

When you will spend fifteen hours in airports and on planes in ice climbing boots to save weight in the single checked bag with all the pointy stuff in it. 

When the only nice "girl" stuff you own are the skirt, sweater and leggings you bought for the Bozeman ice fest, cuz, well, Conrad Anker. :-)

Best, Helen

When I’m scanning the for sale forum, even when I’m not looking to buy or sell anything.

I know I'm hooked because I have ALL the above reasons.
One other: My hands get sweaty just looking at Rock and climbing photos and I reach for my invisible chalk bag

when you pull into the Longs Peak parking lot at 3am in a vw beetle loaded to the gills with 1000's dollars worth

of gear in the middle of winter by yourself....and the car is worth 200$ bucks!