Why I Climb
By Marie Schwindler
It is a warm summer night, and the air tastes slightly of chalk. I stare at my hands after attempting one of my projects at the gym. No use in asking me how many times I have attempted to send this problem because I’ve lost count. Damn! Another flapper! Well, that’s why tape is one of the next best things to chalk. I find myself here at the gym for the third time this week, and it’s only Tuesday. Knowing that if I don’t come at least another four times this week, chances are, I’ll probably be twitching through out the weekend. I promised my partner that we would spend the weekend together. Even though I love them deeply, I yearn to climb. It’s already August, and there may be only two more months to attempt the route that I’ve been working on since last summer. My climbing partner and I have visited the route multiple times this season. With each visit, we come back with the feeling of achievement throbbing on our fingertips. We’ve already come so far!
Thing is, this isn’t my first project, and well, it won’t be my last. I go through months where I am almost completely consumed with climbing. At times I have felt like I am almost living in two separate worlds. After a productive weekend of climbing, I’ve been known to show up to work with bruises, scrapes, cuts on my hands, and dirt deeply embedded under my fingernails even though I swear I’ve washed them. My co-workers don’t seem to appreciate the epic achievements that I rave about, nor the trials that I have overcome as I climbed and clawed my way up the rock. They say things like, “You’re crazy!” or “Is that what you consider a vacation!?”
Truth is, I can’t imagine any other way to spend my free time. Contemplating on such comments, this question seemed to arise, “What is it about climbing that has me so captivated?” After meditating on this question for some time, I concluded on this. When I climb, I feel a sense of focus. On the wall, I don’t think about work, the laundry, or about what waits for me at home. Rather, I find my mind consumed with what my next move or gear placement will be. With rock climbing, I push my body and my mind to places that would be hard to achieve in the security of my sheltered metropolitan life. Thus, it also offers me the beauty of adventure and insight to my own determination. And of course, how can I not mention the view, the air, and tranquility of the mountains that comes with such adventures!
Through being challenged with this self posed question, I found that my perception of climbing took on a slightly different form. All those nights at the gym, all the minor deformities that come with cramming your foot into a shoe that is obviously too small, all the falls, the takes, and days of being so completely shut down, it all just seemed so rightfully justified. Through this understanding, my love for climbing only expands. So, when the seasons turn, and it gets cold and rainy, and the mountains that I love so deeply are kissed with snow, you will find me at the gym (often).
There, with my community, we climb, and push ourselves for the preparation of next season.
