Sport Climbers are Wonderful People

It is interesting how many climbers work so hard at dividing climbers into factions.
I have my own opinion as to why this occurs.
It is my belief that in a sport such as this, where it is hard to get recognition and make a name for yourself, many climbers resort to the ego driven self aggrandizing act of specialization.
This type of individual will cling to only one aspect of the broad spectrum of our sport in order to limit the critique of others.
For example, if they are afraid of running it out high above pro, they will put down trad climbing and claim that only sport climbs offer the high numbers that are necessary for truly great athletes such as themselves. They usually refer to the tradsters as out-dated over the hill has beens, who aren't hip, and can't climb hard enough to do sport.
If a climber can't manage the gymnastic extremes of high end sport climbing, then they will put down sport climbers. These tradsters maintain their self-righteousness under the facade of environmental concerns and natural aesthetics.
Sportsters maintain their pompous attitude with their belief that they are "cutting edge."
Afraid of heights? Take up bouldering and dis roped climbers.
Can't handle altitude? Stick to the crags and bad mouth mountaineers.
Us and them. It is the unenlightened way of the world.
Straights hate gays. Christians hate Muslims. Protestants hate Catholics. Vegetarians hate carnivores. Coloradans hate Texans.
Tradsters hate Sport climbers (sport climbing is neither).
It goes on and on ad-nauseum.
All climbing is fantastic. I've participated in all of the specialized sub-categories that climbing offers. These days, I am a complete hack at all of the different specializations of our sport.
Perhaps I'm just not good enough at any one form of climbing to put down another climbers' style of ascent.

Good title, I laughed, I cried -- a tale of two cities.

Good sport climbers are f'n awesome.

You want some real pain, lead some hard ice; where the route is guaranteed to come down at least once a year in CO. Cold Fear - whoever came up with that name for the website hit the button.

The main point though, all climbing is cool. I can dig it. It's the only physical venue where men & women have an equalizer.

Though, Texans do suck!

Yeah Texans do suck
Seen written on a toilet stall in colorado
Here I sit my buns a flexin
giving birth to another texan

I'm a Trad climber who's recently taken up Sport climbing.
Burn out had sapped my motivation for crack climbing but I have found new inspiration for climbing by changing my focus from Trad to Sport.
Yeah all climbing rules! Even Bouldering (although I refuse to wear a beanie).

Tom Hanson wrote:Coloradans hate Texans.

When Jonny, and I were visiting Boulder, Colorado we rented a car that happened to have Texas plates "oops", and I did notice people giving us looks at times. Jonny mentioned that people in Co. don't care for Texans. I was like, whatever... those crazy ass Coloradans who all look, act and dress alike, and who gives a shit about the dumb, rich ass, stupid ass, drunk ass Texans (Now,I just thought that to myself for a split second!). I grew up in LA where everyone seemed to hate each other, and their own kind so I wasn't too bothered; until some overly hippied out climber man in Colorado cursed at me while I was sitting peacefully in the car, trying to take a nap while waiting for Jonny as he got something to eat in a small town. He said a derogatory remark about Texans, yelling at me about not giving him, and his woman a ride as we passed them up while they walked down Mt. Evans. We did chat with them briefly while up on Mt. Evans, but hell, people like me from LA, and Vegas don't pick up hitch-hikers. We don't even pull over to help anyone we don't know change a tire where I came from, and we don't accept help from strangers either. Everyone for themselves; it's safer that way. You can't even trust cops in LA. Anyway I felt better when I cursed back at him, as his climber woman with dreadlocks ushered him down the street. That was my only bad experience with a Coloradan, so I left with a good taste in my mouth.

FYI...In Vegas, people seem to get along fine. Since living in Vegas, I've learned to trust people more, and I'm very lucky to have an overabundance of great friends, of every race, age, size, shape, and color, from all over the world, including Texas. I even like sport climbers now that I've overcome my jealousy.

I hope this won't be considered a thread hijack. : )

Gigette Miller wrote: ... He said a derogatory remark about Texans, yelling at me about not giving him, and his woman a ride as we passed them up while they walked down Mt. Evans. ... Anyway I felt better when I cursed back at him, as his climber woman with dreadlocks ushered him down the street. That was my only bad experience with a Coloradan...

He probably wasn't. Just another idiot transplanted flatlander peakbaggin in terrain they can't handle.

I would have gotten my money back for having to rent a car with those hideous plates -- or, made them pay me to take such a vehicle!

I'd be wary of Evans & Pikes; but if I'm obviously draggin a rack, rope, & helmet -- I'm probably not an axe murderer; I'm one of those terrorists with a cam -- "AH! run Martha, he's got springy things and the're set to go off!!"

LOL! Mark, you're fuc*in crazy, but in a good way.

I have hope, though. Once a climber gets really good at Sport, they may yet be able to take on Protected Slabs.

I wasn't worried about axe murderers, as I deal with them at work on occasion. I was more worried of what else would be riding along in those dreadlocks. I didn't want the rental company to charge us to delouse the vehicle.

Art Morimitsu wrote: I refuse to wear a beanie).

wear the beanie man!

I never developed a taste for bolting but could always climb harder than my courage, voila-bouldering

influence the agenda, get in there with your spin-this is the marketplace of ideas, values, life-it may seem superficial or manipulative, but all the alternatives are going to be some form of top down stalinist bullshit.

I have found the opposite to be true. Coloradans hate Californians. The Texas hate thing is sorta 80's. Texans play up here a couple times a year, but then they go back to Texas. Californians are moving here by the droves and bringing thier freaky Cali bad driving habits with them. And the bathroom joke I saw written on a wall was similar, but more racial.

To get back on topic, anyone who identifies with thier climbing preference so hardcore that it divides them from other climbing disciplines is a moron. Ahhhh, feel better now.

heeeyyy , wait a minute Hank, aren't you originally from Texas??

And didn't you move here....

I could be wrong? but if you are, your secrets safe with us...

Tom Dunwiddie, a good friend and prolific climber who was killed in Yosemite a few years ago, summed it up pretty well with an essay he wrote back in '96: "Trad climbers strike again on Shelf Rd. - trip report" ( groups.google.com/group/rec…)

Richard Radcliffe wrote:Tom Dunwiddie, a good friend and prolific climber who was killed in Yosemite a few years ago, summed it up pretty well with an essay he wrote back in '96: "Trad climbers strike again on Shelf Rd. - trip report" ( groups.google.com/group/rec…)

I went there and read it:

"Monika is only 5’1", and as far as we know lacks the dreaded Y chromosome, but she *is* a bona fide, card-carrying 35 year old engineer. Anyway, they gave us the secret rec.climbing greeting - "Hi, you Tony Bubb," to which we of course replied, "You’re a bunch of Tony Bubb's", followed by the chorus of "We’re all Tony Bubbs!"

I take exception to that. I'm only 34. And what is more, at the time of writing I was 23 and didn't even believe that people could live to be that old.

Tony Bubb wrote:I take exception to that. I'm only 34. And what is more, at the time of writing I was 23 and didn't even believe that people could live to be that old.

But do you have a Y chromosome?

Oh I'm Texan allright, born and raised! So hell yes I got all butthurt when the anti-Texas thing popped into this thread. I'm better now......

Well Goddang, Hank. No wonder I started smellin cow shit out in the Eldo parkin lot. You know the only two things that come outta TX: steers & .....

Ya know TX is the only state that another country didn't want. I say let's do the same and just give it back.

Aw, c'mon. Leave the poor guy alone. Texas is alright. After all, Texas has really great... um... you know... Well, Texas is alright.

I started to write a song in 4/4 with a 90 Tempo it starts out

"Here I sit cheeks a'flexen given birth to another Texan"

Could anyone help me finish this one?

Somewhere in Texas a village is missing thier idiot...

Bush is from Conneticut dude, not Texas. Texans are born there. You people are holes......and I can't think of a good retro-burn that rhymes with Texans and buns flexin.......

Okaaaay..

Somewhere in Conneticut a village is missing thier idiot.

Seems the idiot went to Texas where the Texans made him king.

That doesn't seem better from the Texas point of view.