Stimulating discussion, though I have to say, I don't sense it as strongly as the author frames it. How often do rawdogging opportunities occur ? Well, more frequently if that's what you buy into, for sure. It certainly has a deeper reward. Guidebooks however, yield immense satisfaction from armchair action - which spans a vastly larger duration than the time spent cragging - and this is worth something. Most of us are limited by opportunity whether that be work, weather or company - so narrowing down choices for those precious moments when we actually get out is important. OK so we could choose different guidebooks which leave more elements to the imagination. Fact is - we may count as a blessing - the detail which comes across in a topo may well be (often is) flawed in some way, whether it be grade or presentation - so happily, the reality of real life encounter still holds reward.
But here's a thing - *today* 11/12/2023, the bluemoon phenomena really took place ! We went out to a little known sport crag in Spain where topos are not allowed - and discovered a newly equipped sector. As the only lead climber present I was compelled to consider the value of this find (stay with it or escape to safer territory) - some of the routes looked easy enough to get going with, while others, though v inviting 'might' be too hard. The choice came good - the 'too easy' routes were certainly more interesting without grade definition (F5a/b), and the 'might be too hard' routes both went with great success - steep juggy holds on orange/red streaked conglomerate (F6a/b). Discovery went deeper :)
Incidentally the crag's name is Betesa, which features in my v recent blog post 'Climbing Sites, Central Pyrenees' - here at treelee.substack.com - free to access and share
Interesting, and I would hope widening the thought envelopes young people seem to spend their time within now. I don't get as categorical, preferring to be receptive to whatever complex of ideas come up for rumination.
I will say that after over fifty years climbing, my early obsessively fanatical ones were productive, but fraught with the nearest-to-death winter first ascent epic, dark months of isolation, confusion and self-loathing over motives, priorities, responsibilities, against objectives I now see as box-checking ambitions, with little satisfaction or personal enlightenment to be gained.
The character profile of the typical new climber today is vastly different from my peers in the day; my first outing, rappelling with buddies, felt like the first hit of crack - I was addicted before I understood what I'd just experienced. Now, a blur of videos, TV and movie documentaries, celebrity climber figures, all raise the notoriety of the sport, but the sensory elements cannot be a spectator activity.
I find it paradoxical, that so many crave the new route adventure, when the leftovers are either mostly insignificant, poor quality, or ever more obscure, and farther afield.
One can compromise, study an area from MP or a guidebook, but not fixate on ratings, PR redpoint lists, etc. I will say that "adventure climbing" consumes a lot of time, with a lot of it wasted on junk routes, dangerous situations, and lousy weather - and living the dirtbag style comes with costs beyond dollars. Relationships, straight careers, often suffer for one's obsession, and the romance wears thin as one ages, and must work harder to rationalize one's choices as compadres move along, and actually appear happy to have done so.
Acquaintances insist on slamming in new bolted routes after forty-plus years in the game, and I have to think a lot of youngsters may resent this Manifest Destiny mindset as no different from shooting every buffalo, or stripping every forest for lumber. I enjoy testing myself on solid rocks, without nasty surprises at some death anchor, avoiding loose blocks, gardening choss, or being sandbagged by bad advice. Been there, done that, and I no longer fall for the Grand Moral Superiority of the Noble Mountain Pioneer conceit. Too many climbers I've known were assholes, racists, misogynists, even outright sociopaths; being a misanthrope outlier does not make anyone special, or deserving of respect. What you did is far less important than how you did it, and with whom, and how you impacted others. Judging and grading how most of us climb, as recreation (Re -Creation), is a bad habit to practice.
Stimulating discussion, though I have to say, I don't sense it as strongly as the author frames it. How often do rawdogging opportunities occur ? Well, more frequently if that's what you buy into, for sure. It certainly has a deeper reward. Guidebooks however, yield immense satisfaction from armchair action - which spans a vastly larger duration than the time spent cragging - and this is worth something. Most of us are limited by opportunity whether that be work, weather or company - so narrowing down choices for those precious moments when we actually get out is important. OK so we could choose different guidebooks which leave more elements to the imagination. Fact is - we may count as a blessing - the detail which comes across in a topo may well be (often is) flawed in some way, whether it be grade or presentation - so happily, the reality of real life encounter still holds reward.
But here's a thing - *today* 11/12/2023, the bluemoon phenomena really took place ! We went out to a little known sport crag in Spain where topos are not allowed - and discovered a newly equipped sector. As the only lead climber present I was compelled to consider the value of this find (stay with it or escape to safer territory) - some of the routes looked easy enough to get going with, while others, though v inviting 'might' be too hard. The choice came good - the 'too easy' routes were certainly more interesting without grade definition (F5a/b), and the 'might be too hard' routes both went with great success - steep juggy holds on orange/red streaked conglomerate (F6a/b). Discovery went deeper :)
Incidentally the crag's name is Betesa, which features in my v recent blog post 'Climbing Sites, Central Pyrenees' - here at treelee.substack.com - free to access and share
Howsabout onsight - 'rawsight' for the lexicology ?
Interesting, and I would hope widening the thought envelopes young people seem to spend their time within now. I don't get as categorical, preferring to be receptive to whatever complex of ideas come up for rumination.
I will say that after over fifty years climbing, my early obsessively fanatical ones were productive, but fraught with the nearest-to-death winter first ascent epic, dark months of isolation, confusion and self-loathing over motives, priorities, responsibilities, against objectives I now see as box-checking ambitions, with little satisfaction or personal enlightenment to be gained.
The character profile of the typical new climber today is vastly different from my peers in the day; my first outing, rappelling with buddies, felt like the first hit of crack - I was addicted before I understood what I'd just experienced. Now, a blur of videos, TV and movie documentaries, celebrity climber figures, all raise the notoriety of the sport, but the sensory elements cannot be a spectator activity.
I find it paradoxical, that so many crave the new route adventure, when the leftovers are either mostly insignificant, poor quality, or ever more obscure, and farther afield.
One can compromise, study an area from MP or a guidebook, but not fixate on ratings, PR redpoint lists, etc. I will say that "adventure climbing" consumes a lot of time, with a lot of it wasted on junk routes, dangerous situations, and lousy weather - and living the dirtbag style comes with costs beyond dollars. Relationships, straight careers, often suffer for one's obsession, and the romance wears thin as one ages, and must work harder to rationalize one's choices as compadres move along, and actually appear happy to have done so.
Acquaintances insist on slamming in new bolted routes after forty-plus years in the game, and I have to think a lot of youngsters may resent this Manifest Destiny mindset as no different from shooting every buffalo, or stripping every forest for lumber. I enjoy testing myself on solid rocks, without nasty surprises at some death anchor, avoiding loose blocks, gardening choss, or being sandbagged by bad advice. Been there, done that, and I no longer fall for the Grand Moral Superiority of the Noble Mountain Pioneer conceit. Too many climbers I've known were assholes, racists, misogynists, even outright sociopaths; being a misanthrope outlier does not make anyone special, or deserving of respect. What you did is far less important than how you did it, and with whom, and how you impacted others. Judging and grading how most of us climb, as recreation (Re -Creation), is a bad habit to practice.