the shizzle > the blog pile
Living with wads
36chambers:
--- Quote from: highrepute on January 22, 2018, 10:53:42 am ---
--- Quote from: Duncan campbell on January 19, 2018, 11:23:44 pm ---I find it amazing that people just do one discipline year round, again and again. Part of what I love about climbing is the variety, and how at the beginning of each season the new style feels unknown and scary.
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Depends what you are aiming for. Being a average jack of all trades or a master of one.
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Us year round boulderers are just boring people.
Bradders:
--- Quote from: teestub on January 20, 2018, 06:17:29 pm ---I love all the different disciplines too: grit bouldering in the winter, moorland grit bouldering in early spring and late autumn, Lakes and N Wales bouldering from late spring to early autum.
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This! Plus a bit of slime in spring/summer.
I've never once gone to the crag or the wall just because I'm a climber and that's where I feel I should be. Can't imagine what that might feel like, or to have the spare time to do that sort of thing! I think it actually helps to have a totally non-climbing full time job and partner, giving you lots of other things to fill your time with and thereby making the time in which you can get out that bit more special.
Will Hunt:
--- Quote from: 36chambers on January 22, 2018, 12:54:09 pm ---
--- Quote from: highrepute on January 22, 2018, 10:53:42 am ---
--- Quote from: Duncan campbell on January 19, 2018, 11:23:44 pm ---I find it amazing that people just do one discipline year round, again and again. Part of what I love about climbing is the variety, and how at the beginning of each season the new style feels unknown and scary.
--- End quote ---
Depends what you are aiming for. Being a average jack of all trades or a master of one.
--- End quote ---
Us year round boulderers are just boring people.
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No, it's just you.
:-*
spidermonkey09:
--- Quote from: Will Hunt on January 22, 2018, 11:33:54 am ---I don't think Ben (or anyone) is pontificating on any way of going out climbing, either varied or focussed, being better than another. I think he's just saying that going to the boulders has lost its thrill and become a routine which is fulfilled unquestioningly. Because that's just what climbers do; when they get a spare moment they go to the wall or to the crag. But what if that's becoming dull?
I don't like to pigeonhole myself but when I started to do more bouldering than any other discipline I can remember the thrill of the progression through the grades. Now I've been doing that for a few years, much of the thrill has gone; though I still enjoy climbing and climbing for the sake of climbing. My grade on the boulders has plateaued, and possibly dipped since fatherhood has begun, though it's hard to tell definitively as this season has been appallingly bad for opportunity and all the other factors coming together. I don't have the temperament to get really involved with training and sessioning long term projects to progress much further with bouldering.
When I switched back from moorland exploring in the summer to trad climbing it was like a reawakening. Having plugged away on Yorkshire grit as a jobbing HVS - E2 tradder for a few years in the past, coming back to the crag with the extra bouldering power was just incredible. Suddenly there were all these routes which had been unattainable before which I could now do in comfort. Taking that onto the mountain crags and doing long lusted for routes like Saxon was just amazing. Even though the grades are modest, it's fun. I wonder what thrills are to be had from sport climbing since I've never really put my mind to redpointing?
I think it's quite scary for a climber to admit to themselves that they're becoming bored with climbing - especially if 90% of your mates are climbers and it's where your social identity lies. Fortunately, if you find yourself so afflicted, climbing has given us lots of different disciplines to keep it interesting.
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Think thats spot on. I spent ages trad climbing and am really enjoying sport climbing and bouldering more as I get to feel that grade progression again. V8 used to be unattainable for a weak, bold trad climber and now its a stepping stone. Same for the sport. The rough plan is to take that fitness back to the trad for a time in the summer and knock off some dream routes (best laid plans...) before reverting to bouldering again over the winter. I think thats the best way to stay psyched!
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