Since the easing of Covid restrictions I have been climbing frequently, and more than ever, (if that’s possible) and the space, the elements, the wildlife have been really noticeable. In saying that, is it just me, or are there a lot fewer birds than before? When I grew up, the hedgerows were full of bullfinches, greenfinches, linnets, redpolls, bruins and song thrushes, and the muddy fields always had nesting lapwings, whose gurgling song was a soundtrack to my youth . Nowadays there seem to be few birds compared to when I was growing up, it’s a real shame that it seems we (humans) have screwed it up and continue to do so. We know what’s destroying the world, but we continue anyway! Humans just can’t help it, and much of the blame, in my opinion, comes from arrogance, greed, and vanity; Humans just can’t seem to hold back when it comes to money and bragging, and it makes me wonder why, as a species, are humans so narcissistic and greedy?
Regardless, I learned a lot from my local climbing, it may have been more enjoyable than ever, perhaps a positive despite all the downsides. The idea of flying long distances to satisfy one’s personal ambition and ego, and causing more damage, while spreading more of who knows what, is something I have a hard time justifying at the moment. . Maybe in the future, when everything is completely destroyed, with no chance of getting it back, I’ll just bury my head in the sand and do what I want without regard to the outcome of my actions, who knows? So I’ve been in the UK, two trips to Scotland, but mainly locally in Cymru. Did a bit of re-routing and some tough (for me) reps. I spent several days climbing things that were new to me, and I climbed some well-known classics, climbs I’ve done many times. I have to admit that these oft-repeated climbs were wonderful, like meeting neglected friends. Usually, I make these classics a few times each summer, and coming back to them almost felt like a return to pre-pandemic times. But like the birds in the hedge, I’m not sure if the pure feeling I once had will return?
Since the arrival of Covid-19 and its effects on the world, I have been questioning and looking at things in more depth. Humanity and the earth we share seem to be a balancing act, a seesaw, and at the moment, from my somewhat limited perspective, we (humanity) seem to be sitting, sprawling on the ground, the trumping the other life, which is up in the air, and we don’t seem to care, as long as we can look at our smartphone, take selfies, eat burgers and fly into space!
So, I hear you ask, what does all this have to do with climbing? Well, not a lot, I guess, or maybe yes? I don’t have a UKC logbook, but a few years ago I started looking at what people had written about certain climbs. I think it started when my interest in European sport routes grew and I started attempting sport climbs at the peak of my abilities. Most of the time I climb with Rich Kirby on overseas sport trips, and I think it’s thanks to Rich (who keeps a log and reads what people say about climbs) that I I started looking at some logbook entries. In those innocent days, I marveled at how much Rich knew about climbs, and it wasn’t until he told me about the logbook entries that I began to read some of them. . It quickly became clear that Rich knew certain things and why he was aiming for certain climbs. On those same trips, we often had heated debates about the whole logbook thing, because at the time I thought it was all ego-fueled vanity, yet another thing to alongside social media to put it all out there and show the world how great you are. Just another way to make your friends writhe with jealousy. I’ve mellowed a bit since then, because of course climbers like to keep track of their great conquests (sorry, I’m talking about climbs) but, if that was the only reason to fill out a logbook, I didn’t understand why people did it. They do not record their climbs privately, which is of course possible. I get it, and I can see the fun/addiction of adding climbs to a logbook, it’s like the old days when egg collecting was a thing, just look at all those pretty colored eggs lined up with the name of the bird below!
The time has come for me to ask myself: are routes still climbed entirely and purely for personal pleasure and individual challenge, or is this a reason to climb, like birds, a rare thing? The climbs themselves are more like eggs, like a commodity, something to list, to check off and share, to brag about. The once-hidden nuances of climbs are now revealed in detail. Take a look at some of the classic North Wales toughs in the logbooks, hell, if you choose to read the information given on some entries, or in the beta section you can rack up the exact material before arrive at the cliff, and as long as you are in good shape, climb the route, letting yourself be guided throughout the route by the information provided. What is it about? Why do people feel the need to tell everyone what the equipment is, where the equipment is, and how to place it! Have we all become drones – slaves to the Internet, unable to leave the ground without a list of action items? Why do people need to tell others what equipment to use when climbing? Hell, climbing has been around a long time before the internet and people took it up. But as I said, I have mellowed, my attitude has changed and there are aspects of the logbooks that I really like; I love reading about epics (as long as they eventually come out!) and I love humble, witty stuff (Rob Greenwood’s comments are some of the best) and I love honest commentary that tells the struggle, the pain. and pump – things we can all relate to and remember. Unfortunately, there’s not enough of this stuff, and what could be a good source of entertainment is lost (for me anyway) under all the fluff and ego.
This summer I’ve seen people climb routes that look nothing like their logbook entries, and the comments they write are, at best, illusions or misguided boasts, and at worst, nonsense. lies. Why do people’s comments usually make climbs worse, but very rarely make them better? And after almost thirty years of climbing, it took me reading the UKC logs to realize that you can second a climb, then lead it, and say that it was almost a flash, I I’m sorry, but you can’t. almost show something, you either do it or you don’t, just face the truth, be honest with yourself and others, leave the ego behind and tell it like it is.
I also learned that you can second, go to the top of the rope and lead a climb, then talk about how easy you found it! Well done for finding it easy, good for you! It took me years to realize that you have more bragging rights by telling the world that it wasn’t tracked and that it was definitely the first climb of the season, even if it was It’s a climb that has seen hundreds of ascents and may have been climbed by people before. that summer, but they probably chose not to enter the internet bragging fray, and what difference does it make if you climbed a route before everyone else that summer?
I’m sorry, it’s my problem, I know it just climbs into the 21st Century, and I was left behind, but damn, that’s why the world is fucked up, it’s all arrogance and narcissism and selfishness and ego, and I’m glad I was left behind matter, so please bring on the apocalypse, because I’m suffering and I need to be put out of my misery.
Postscript:
Fluffy, boastful lists of the incredible climbs I found easy this summer, climbs I almost flashed after playing top-rope, will resume in the next blog.