I was listening to Chris Kalous on the Enormocast yesterday. He was taking to Don McGrath the author of the book Vertical Mind. He voiced a thought I often have related to sport climbing. The thought is that many people seem to be more concerned about being perceived as a climber rather than actually being a climber.
Perhaps due to the extremely strong influence of social media on sport climbing (In my sense this influence is much stronger in the discipline of sport climbing than in any other mountain sports discipline), I see this tendency very frequently while climbing on Kalymnos.
What’s it look like? Mostly that the climber is not really having much fun, seems frustrated and is not getting any satisfaction from their efforts. Further, they seem to be following what the vast majority of other climbers are doing within their social circle at the crag or in the gym. Another overriding characteristic is that the climber who represents this attitude is strongly oriented towards comparison with others. ‘If that person over there can climb that route, than so can I’, ‘I am a lot more fit than that guy, so if he just climbed that 7a, than I should easily do it’, or ‘she has only been climbing 3 years and I have a lot more experience and years climbing, so I should climb at least 2 grades better than her’, are all typical examples of comparison at the crags. Comparison kills, takes you outside of yourself and is the fastest way to ruin your day as a climber.
From my perspective as a guide and climbing coach, the climber who is more concerned with outward perception wants to hire a sport climbing instructor who is seen as “the best climber”, the one who has the biggest internet visibility, the owner of the climbing gym — all criteria that is external and is based on perceived prestige, attributed social status, perceived ranking, etc. — and not whether the guide, instructor or coach makes them a better climber, improves their disposition towards their climbing practice and sets a path forward that they can follow on their own.
It is not about anything else than the climbing guide or coach making you a better climber, physically and mentally.
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