You know what really Unstuck My Nuts?  The fact that I have gotten stronger!

When a lot of us first got into the climbing game we were just happy to make it to the top.  Whether on the 5.0 First-timers Delight at the local crag or the (ungraded) Rainbow Adventure in the gym, we were just happy to be out and trying something new.  Our hands hurt, our arms hurt, our calves hurt, and maybe even our pride, but we fell in love and came back again and again.  We bought a harness, shoes, crashpad, a rope, a helmet, quickdraws, a full trad rack and now our list of hurt gets to include our toes, legs, hips, back, and neck.  We set higher and higher goals from short routes and problems with buckets all the way up to razor crimps up a run-out face or highball.  We thought we could keep getting better forever and maybe one day hang with the best.  We imagined ourselves on the forefront of our local areas, finding new and hidden gems or making trips to exotic locales to try the raddest test pieces.  But then what happened?  Maybe we ran out money, suffered an injury, moved to a flat state for work, bought a house, had kids, or worse.  I don’t know you, but that’s my list in ascending order of terrible things.

Or some tragic combination

Either way, you never quite made it to the V-double digits or hung out with the likes of Sharma and Ondra battling for the first ascent of the hard-hard (a.k.a – la Dura-Dura).  But I’ll tell you what you can do in just three easy tips complete with an Ease of Completion and Payoff meter!

Smiles are contagious and remind you just how awesome this sport and you really are.

Ease: 4 / 5 

Like I said, it should be easy to get them to the gym at least once.  Then again, maybe you are short on friends that don’t already climb.

Payoff: 3 / 5

It’s a toss up.  The stoke of your past accomplishments can get you through a rut as you recount your adventures to sell them on the sport.  If you succeed and gain a new partner and you earn +1 Charisma.  But sometimes once is enough for your newbie and you must return to your old self-deprecating habits.

Tip #2: Climb With Stronger People

I think many of us have heard this tip and wondered how it works.  If I’m as strong as I am, how will immediately become stronger just rolling with some new hommies?  The secret answer is that most people sell themselves short and hold back as a result.  It’s just a mental block that we climb to the level that we think we are, or only climb with a group that we perceive as our equivalent, or worse, our junior and as a result do not push ourselves as hard as we can or should.  Climbing with a crew that is a grade or two above you opens a lot of doors.  They will push you to try harder, whether on a new problem or on your current project and will most likely be able to give you advice on how to complete what you are working on far better.  You will gain more from one session than you ever could from doing pull-up burnouts every night this week.

I have definitely experienced this when trying something for ages with my usual buddies, but then a rock god emerges and revitalizes your psych, shows you a missing intermediate, and, sometimes quietly and sometimes loudly, wills you to the top.  They sit back, smile, and look you knowingly in the eye before receding back into the world.

Jimmy Webb’s beard is my spirit guide

Ease: 3 / 5

It can be tough to find new and stronger partners and you run the risk of leaving your old mates.  The gym can have cliques too tough to worm your way in and there is no guarantee an Alex Johnson-type will be climbing outside near you.

Payoff: 4 / 5

Being forced into the fire is great and many will rise to the challenge.  Aim too high and you run the risk of being perpetually discouraged as they drag you into something way over your head.

Tip #3: Be Patient

I know what you are thinking, this is not an overnight tip.  You are right, well observed, young Padawan.  It is more a matter of perception, or a certain point of view, if you prefer, and as such, I am right as well.  Every day you wake up after a session on the hangboard, in the gym, or on the rock, you are stronger.  You may not suddenly be ready for that sick compression line you have been eyeing, but, more than likely, you pushed yourself just a little harder or a little longer or a little faster on what you already could do.  Maybe you linked a section but ultimately still didn’t send.  It can be frustrating, but that shows that you are stronger than your last session or even your last attempt.

Strength in climbing is so much more than how much weight you hang on your harness or how small of an edge you can hang on to.  It is is muscle memory and an accumulation of [safe] failures both physical and mental that ultimately add up over time.  I look back and I can’t believe that I have been climbing since I was 14.  Where did the last 17 years go?  Yet I still remember every first of each grade and day in a new locale like they were yesterday.  Where will the next 17 or 31 years take me and how strong will I get?  I don’t know, but it sure is exciting to think about what I have done already, how far I have come, and how far I may still yet go.

Climbing Strength = Determination + Repetition

Ease: 1/5

But I want to be strong now!

Payoff: 4/5

The only thing that can make you better is time, but blink and you will miss it.  Enjoy the now.

Bonus Tip: Be the Best You That You Can Be

My best climbing buddy, and the other author on this blog, has a joke when talking about or imitating me.  It goes something like this, “Hi!  My name is Tylor and I climb V5.”  It’s not far from the truth.  I have at least one V5 in every gym, area, state, and country that I have had the privilege to climb.  I have climbed much harder and I have been shut down just as easily, but I’m usually at least having fun.  We all can’t have our best day every day we touch the rock or pull plastic.  Not getting any further in the grades?  What can you do to improve what you already can complete?  Go for fewer attempts on the new set in the gym.  Maybe don’t go harder, but do more routes than your last trip. We may get hurt or have other responsibilities creep in, and each of us will inevitably get older and suddenly your former warm-ups are not so inviting.  But I can have the best attitude, have the most fun, and know that this is best me right now.  In the end, that is why we are here.

Ease: 5/5

Duh!  Smile and enjoy all that you have and are capable of doing!

Payoff: 5/5

Climbing is a lifetime sport.  The more you enjoy it and share it, the more it gives back.

Who is the strongest in this picture?  The answer is, It Doesn’t Matter

Believe me, I’m nowhere near as strong as thought I could be.  Hell, at this point the phrase “as good as I once was” is fleeting memory, but 12 weeks on crutches and an additional 8 weeks of PT will do that.  But, I will get back on the rock and I will undoubtedly introduce someone new to the sport.  They may get better than me or they may not.  I will climb with people stronger than me and I’ll learn something new that even 17 years of climbing hasn’t yet taught me.  I will be patient through every injury, failure, success, and achievement and continue to love every minute of it.