FAQ and threads for those just starting to hike the Colorado 14ers.
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highpilgrim wrote:
3) Anyone driving in the passing lane who is not speeding is an a**hole to be avoided at all costs.
So much this. Or passed on the right, rapidly.
1. Second, third and fourth guess the weather. Make plan B,C,D. But whatever you do, get out there. Even if you think it will suck, it’ll usually be better than you think. And those 5% times it does suck, it’s still better than sitting at home (or in the car debating)!
2. If you do what everyone else is doing, when they are doing it, you’re doing it wrong. (Save money when everyone else is spending, and spend when everyone else is saving)
"Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games." - Ernest Hemingway (or was it Barnaby Conrad?)
Your knees only get so many bumps in life, don't waste them on moguls!
“No athlete is truly tested until they’ve stared an injury in the face and come out on the other side stronger than ever” -anonymous
1. People who don't like dogs aren't necessarily miserable misanthropes who find no joy in life, but the odds go way up.
2. To many (I'll daresay most) hikers and climbers, the sport is nothing more than a thinly veiled ego-centric dong-measuring contest. But I can count on one hand the number I've met willing to admit it.
3. Just because something isn't badass to you, doesn't mean it's not badass. Don't look down your nose at people doing simple lake hikes or snowshoe trips because you're a Climber with a capital C. Instead, try to find the joy in those mellower excursions yourself. It's bountiful.
4. Don't hold grudges. Online personas rarely translate to real life, and people change. I have several good friendships with folks I once considered enemies. (The opposite is also true, but amends are almost always within reach. Almost.)
5. Do you. Don't follow the herd or compare yourself to others. Find what makes you happy and do it as often as possible, with no regrets.
6. Slow down, breathe, look around, and enjoy the beauty of a place, no matter where you are.
“There are two kinds of climbers: those who climb because their heart sings when they’re in the mountains, and all the rest.” - Alex Lowe
"There have been joys too great to describe in words, and there have been griefs upon which I cannot dare to dwell; and with those in mind I say, 'Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste, look well to each step, and from the beginning think what may be the end.'" - Edward Whymper
SurfNTurf wrote:5. Do you. Don't follow the herd or compare yourself to others. Find what makes you happy and do it as often as possible, with no regrets.
This is one of the hardest things to do for me, not just with mountain stuff, but with running. As I get older I get better at letting other people be faster, better, more accomplished and not letting it disturb my pleasure in the activity. Being competitive can really ruin a good time. I just try to remind myself that Jornet(or whoever) is out there and he's better than everyone.
A man has got to know his limitations.-Dr. Jonathan Hemlock or Harry Callahan or something F' it: http://youtu.be/lpzqQst-Sg8
'Life is too short to ski groomers'
"That man's only desire was to stand, once only, on the summit of that glorious wedge of rock...I think anyone who loves the mountains as much as that can claim to be a mountaineer, too."-Hermann Buhl, Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage
SurfNTurf wrote:
2. To many (I'll daresay most) hikers and climbers, the sport is nothing more than a thinly veiled ego-centric dong-measuring contest. But I can count on one hand the number I've met willing to admit it.
So very, very true.
- I didn't say it was your fault. I said I was blaming you.
Mine is the constant reporting of how fast someone is in trip reports. I see the value in it to a degree, so someone can estimate how long it might take them or it might be a pure fitness exercise for them. But most of the time its straight bragging, or attempted anyway.
My answer is, if you love doing this to the degree you want to describe to the world why do you try to get it over with as fast as possible? No one brags about how fast they have sex. I would say the 'winners' are the dawdlers who spend more time taking in the view, smelling the pines and just overall relishing being where they are at. I think we need more bragging to that effect.
There is an old Ed Abbey quote about there being enough fascination for a lifetime in your lawn if you have the curiosity and desire for knowledge and enjoyment.
"Quicker than I can tell it, my hands failed to hold, my feet slipped, and down I went with almost an arrow’s rapidity. An eternity of thought, of life, of death, wife, and home concentrated on my mind in those two seconds. Fortunately for me, I threw my right arm around a projecting boulder which stood above the icy plain some two or three feet." Rev. Elijah Lamb
Rollie Free wrote:Mine is the constant reporting of how fast someone is in trip reports. ... My answer is, if you love doing this to the degree you want to describe to the world why do you try to get it over with as fast as possible? ... I would say the 'winners' are the dawdlers who spend more time taking in the view, smelling the pines and just overall relishing being where they are at.
You wanna know the truth? It's because we hate it. We hate pushing ourselves. We hate moving through rugged and beautiful terrain efficiently so as to experience more and more of it. We hate having to do multiple peaks with a super light pack when we could be hauling a heavy pack and truly (truly) experience a single peak. We hate being able to run up and experience a sunrise on a 14er on a Wednesday morning and still be at work by 9AM. We really don't enjoy those.
We hate that all of the "dawdlers" are obviously having far more fun and gaining more enjoyment out of their superior way of interacting with their environment. We hate that we basically have a blindfold over our eyes and leave the camera in the car so we really don't see anything. We hate that we sometimes have to wear slotted tape goggles so as not to distract ourselves in our braggadocio conquering. We hate that we don't even know who Edward Abbey author of the Monkey Wrench Gang and advocate for leave me alone anarchism is since we don't have time for books.
We hate that others don't realize our way IS better and recognize there is only one "winning" way in which one should experience nature and that way is our way.
Damn. I guess it's time to find a new hobby. There's no elitism and dong-measuring in biking, is there? Maybe I'll switch to that.
--
This new SurfnTurf is like an anti-SurfNTurf from five years ago.
Last edited by Monster5 on Fri Dec 22, 2017 11:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
"The road to alpine climbing is pocked and poorly marked, ending at an unexpectedly closed gate 5 miles from the trailhead." - MP user Beckerich
Mine is the constant reporting of how fast someone is in trip reports. I see the value in it to a degree, so someone can estimate how long it might take them or it might be a pure fitness exercise for them. But most of the time its straight bragging, or attempted anyway.
My answer is, if you love doing this to the degree you want to describe to the world why do you try to get it over with as fast as possible? No one brags about how fast they have sex. I would say the 'winners' are the dawdlers who spend more time taking in the view, smelling the pines and just overall relishing being where they are at. I think we need more bragging to that effect.
There is an old Ed Abbey quote about there being enough fascination for a lifetime in your lawn if you have the curiosity and desire for knowledge and enjoyment.
That's all well and good if you don't have a family to get back to. I put times in my TRs so it give people an idea of how long that route takes.
A man has got to know his limitations.-Dr. Jonathan Hemlock or Harry Callahan or something F' it: http://youtu.be/lpzqQst-Sg8
'Life is too short to ski groomers'
"That man's only desire was to stand, once only, on the summit of that glorious wedge of rock...I think anyone who loves the mountains as much as that can claim to be a mountaineer, too."-Hermann Buhl, Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage
Monster5 wrote:This new SurfnTurf is like an anti-SurfNTurf from five years ago.
FTW.
It's funny how much a person changes between 24 and 31.
“There are two kinds of climbers: those who climb because their heart sings when they’re in the mountains, and all the rest.” - Alex Lowe
"There have been joys too great to describe in words, and there have been griefs upon which I cannot dare to dwell; and with those in mind I say, 'Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste, look well to each step, and from the beginning think what may be the end.'" - Edward Whymper
