28 March 2013

"Wahh-B-S" Nationals. A Potential Transition?

Yes, American Bouldering National Championships happened. Yes, I was there. As per usual. I was there physically. Mentally I'm still unsure as to whether or not I fully participated.

I'm going to attempt to keep this post (mostly) bitter-free. But in all honesty--When it comes to competitions, I feel like I'm running out of steam. Folks are getting stronger, working harder, numbers are growing. (All these are positives in our industry when it comes to accelerating the inertia of progression in our humble sport.)
Naturally, one must roll with the punches in order to keep up. So, last year I trained. Like, really trained. In my personal growth as a climber, I was the strongest I've ever been. It got me (woe is me, a disappointing) 4th place at the Vail Bouldering World Cup, one step off the podium, highest ranking American overall. And a monstrous hangover the next day, my ranking already forgotten by everyone save for myself and a few close friends/family members. There's that famous saying, "Pain is temporary, glory lasts forever." I think in the sport of climbing, and how unbelievably fast its progression has been, especially in the last few years, glory is mighty short-lived.



If I were to pose the question: "Who was the first woman to boulder V13? (And get dozens of coveted 'First Female Ascents' of pretty much any hard boulder in Colorado?)" A question, I believe, every boulderer should know the answer to, due to the weight of it being one small step for an Ange, one giant leap for womankind, do you think everyone would know? This achievement was monumental. It shattered the ceiling for girls to follow, and follow they have been! And some people still don't know who Angie Payne is! Ignorant fools! Blasphemy! She should be one of the most well-known climbers in the world.



Last week Chris did La Dura Dura, the HARDEST route in the WORLD, EVER! And peeps be all, "WO! Sick! Yea!...What's next?" And then there's a lull in the climbing community with everyone's rising expectations. Give us a break, people. Sometimes just climbing V10 is hard (gasp!).
Anyway, I'm just saying. Ondra's only Ondra until the next Ondra.

Back to the topic: 2013 Bouldering Nationals.
Route setting is getting, not much to my liking, weirder. Problems are getting funky and disorienting. It's not like back in the PCA days when climbs were set so the strongest person was winning comps. Due to comps getting "slabbier" or "more technical" or whatever, spectators have been disinterested. Part of the appeal of competitions in our sport is that it's supposed to be exciting and eye-pleasing. You (at least, I) want to watch a badass chick on a steep wall jump from a tiny crimp to a heinous pinch and hold the swing, muscles rippling; not shimmy-balance her way across a slab and into a dihedral only to have her foot slip off a pancake at the top. Of course, these are all just my opinions.



The one redeeming factor I took away from the comp was that, at one point, I was able to muster up something in order to try my absolute hardest in the middle of our coolest problem, Women's Finals Number 2 (or 3?). The one with all the big blue volumes, which we now use. But then I fell at the top. One could say I ran out of steam.



In regards to running out of steam: Currently, at this point in time I no longer feel motivated to try my hardest at competitions. I don't "want it." I'm not "fighting for it." I just want to rock climb outside.
Am I sounding bitter yet? Perhaps it's my head cold.
Allow me to summarize: Competitions are getting harder, and less fun (for me). I might be too burnt out to work as hard as I need to work to stay at the top of the game.
This could ultimately be unfortunate for me, as it seems climbing is on the cusp of blowing up.
I could wait out this funk, and, presumably, ride the coat tails of comp-climbing up the glorious ladder of glitz and glam.
Or I could fall (leap?) off the wagon now, and grow personally as a climber in outdoor aspects (something I am far from burnt out on) and take swelling pride in my own mini successes, not a random ranking from a passing event. If nobody but you remembers your "greatest achievements" anyway (see above), what's the point? Didn't we all get into rock climbing for its individuality to begin with?

P.S. This isn't quitting. This is a transition.

22 comments:

  1. Plastic is cool for training and coming up with unique/wild moves, that only exist inside or at Heuco. But...the air is better, the views are better, everything about it is just more fun: grab the crew and go climb rocks!

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  2. I train in a gym, but my mind and spirit wants to wrestle the pebbles outside in the air, away from the sweat and chalk, and the peoples, and I would do back flips to do a v10, maybe one day....

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  3. Your honesty is refreshing. People can look to you for your insight. The most memorable and impressive climbers to me, whether they're big wall rats, trad crazies, pebble thugs or bolt humpers, are the ones that have something interesting to say. I know I'm not alone here. The climbers that make the largest impact on me are the ones that do inspiring shit and then grow from it, sharing their growth with us in their own unique way. It's totally biased, but you are and will forever remain one of my favorite rock climbers. I could give an Eff about what place you've gotten in a comp or that you've bouldered v12--I'm most interested in the choices you make and that critical, snarky-ass mouth of yours. Maybe followed by seeing you try something new, or try really hard. Love you, Jar Jar Binks. You're a great writer. Keep thinking.

    <3 S.

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  4. Enjoyed reading the blog! Keep surrounding yourself with good people that care about you for the person you are and will help put your worries in perspective. If you do then over the years you'll find the pressure of competitions and anything else you do will wash away. That pressure will turn into a calmness. You'll be smiling about the simplest pleasures or failures. It will help you conquer feats in life or competition easier and faster because your enjoying the moment and the process. Stay positive. Your living a life that is pretty cool. Enjoy it and take advantage of the great opportunities. Who knows, you might meet someone that will give you a Coke in a glass bottle.. ;)

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  5. Come down to Arkansas for a breather and visit HorseShoe Canyon Ranch near Jasper. It has awsome climbing and more importantly awsome people. You will enjoy the southern hospitality! There's plenty of other crazy stuff to do as well!

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    1. A good rule of thumb - never make decisions at a low point. Just give it a little time.

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  6. I know who is Angie Payne!!)))
    really, many who know

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  7. CLIMB OUTDOORS AND MAKE A TON OF VIDEOS SO THAT THOSE OF US WHO AREN'T GOOD ENOUGH TO BYPASS HAVING A REAL JOB CAN ENJOY THE BEAUTY OF THE SPORT EVERYDAY!!!

    and someone before said sport climbing is cooler than bouldering -- I second that notion.

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  8. The best climbers are the ones having the most fun.

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    Replies
    1. on the pessimism-optimism scale, you sir, are far right 100% optimist ;)

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  9. Maybe it's time to get back to your roots and get your hands on some quartzite! Whatever you decide, just remember how many people you have the wish you the best and want to see you succeed. That means in life, not just climbing :-)

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  10. Climbing outside is a much better lifestyle, much more relaxed, but also equally as difficult and just as rewarding. Maybe it's time you (and others even!) make the switch.

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  11. I think it is absolutely true that the climbers who get remembered are the ones who climbed hard OUTSIDE, not the competition climbers. It just so happens that many of the people who set milestones outside and thereby became famous and iconic also happened to do competitions. This is true of many, the most well-known of which are probably Daniel Woods, Chris Sharma for a time, and Adam Ondra. The thing is that these people are not famous for their comp results, they are famous because they revolutionized outdoor climbing and created a good image for the sport through what they did outside. Ask anybody in a gym who knows anything about Chris Sharma, who I think is the single biggest icon of climbing, and they will tell you that he just climbed 15c and lives in Spain, and basically developed all the hard climbing in the whole damn country (he seems to be responsible for the popularization of Spanish climbing), and how he was in King Lines (and many other movies) and climbed that arch and bouldered really hard outside when he was younger, established many many hard boulders, and that he is the epitome of a COOL CLIMBER DUDE. What they will not tell you is that he won nationals a couple times. That's not what real climbing is about, and in my opinion, that's not what is should be about (at least for people who are part of the world climbing community, as opposed to people being exposed to climbing for the first time). That's why my role models are people like chris and adam and not, like, Alex Puccio or ramoet or sachi amma or whoever the great comp climbers are.
    But then again, thats just me.

    I don't know, Alex, I think climbing outside, is just... better. I think you should make the switch.

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  12. Hear hear. I think competitions have something to offer, both from a competitor's standpoint and a spectator's, but if you're not having fun then you're not having fun. Frankly, I pay way more attention to the climbs that people do outside. I couldn't tell you the comp winners of any comp ever. I read the results, usually enough to know that one of a select few people won, then I immediately forget them. But standing under a badass boulder problem and knowing who's climbed it is much cooler in my opinion.

    How's the Swarm going?

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  13. Thanks for the feedback, everyone!! I really appreciate it! I'm really excited about this transition, and although I'm not fully committed to competitions right now, I may still dabble in a few fun ones here and there. Or who knows, I could wake up tomorrow psyched to go back to Europe for the World Cup Circuit! (ha...right).
    Right now, I'm just having so much fun climbing outside, it's all I want to do. I want to keep pushing myself physically and mentally, and start exploring more, and I'm just so excited for the future!
    I truly have no hard feelings what so ever (regardless of how bitter my post is) towards anyone who competes, or still loves competing, or beat me at nationals!
    This is all completely personal.
    Thanks again everyone. I'll keep ya posted :-)

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  14. (But seriously...If you beat me at nationals, I'm coming to break your legs.)

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  15. Go climb a few mountains. Let the weather dictate the day and the cold rock chill your hands. That is rewarding.

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  16. great post. however, i actually disagree that setters in comps should set so the "strongest" wins. i really enjoy when they set to evaluate who is the best climber, not just the strongest. they should make u think and use technique and style. dont necessarily enjoy watching puccio muscle her way up every route.

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  17. Alex-We loved this post so much, and found it really refreshing and inspiring, so we made you our featured climber, or "Girl Crush of the Month" :) on our site! We would be honored if you read it! Thanks! Missy, Cate, and Mary (the cruxcrush ladies)

    http://cruxcrush.com/2013/04/05/girl-crush-of-the-month-alex-johnson/

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