how hard is climbing

So I saw an article today about the "hardest sport" and it got me thinking where does rock climbing fall in. A little google searching and apparently no where. The most comprehensive list included 60 sports so either climbing isn't as hard as fishing or we were just never included. I'm thinking the latter.

So I wanted to know how hard we thought our sport was based on there system. I know comparing such differing sports doesn't totally make sense, but lets have some fun with it. So based of your experience and opinion where do we fit?

My method was to use the sort and go down until I found a sport that I thought was easier, and then split the difference between the harder and easier sport. This does give some odd ratings but then again I don't totally agree with a lot of choices.

sport:
END: 6.75 STR: 7.8 PWR: 7.7 SPD: 6.2 AGI: 5.0 FLX: 9.0 NER: 8.8 DUR: 7.8 HAN: 7.0 ANA: 6.38
Total: 72.43 Rank: 1

bouldering:
END: 5.20 STR: 8.0 PWR: 8.0 SPD: 6.3 AGI: 5.0 FLX: 9.0 NER: 8.3 DUR: 7.8 HAN: 7.0 ANA: 6.38
Total: 70.98 Rank: 3

I think I might be biased.

jacob m s wrote:then again I don't totally agree with a lot of choices.

Yea, I dont agree with any of the choices. A boxing match is harder than an Ironman? Basketball is harder than long distance, open-ocean swimming? I would say the hardest sports are those with the highest failure rates. By it's very nature, failure is the result of a challenge that was simply too difficult.

Skiing is harder than steer wrestling? I'm more badass than I thought.

Well they broke it down to categories and then totaled the points, boxing never won in any category, but scored high in almost all of them. They are also missing a lot of sports and include some odd choices like auto racing. If its not in the Olympics or covered by ESPN it probably didn't make the list.

Its also not very practical to compare such diverse sports, but its still fun.

Also if I had started at the bottom of the list and worked up I bet that I would have found climbing to be a much easier sport.

20 kN wrote: Yea, I dont agree with any of the choices. A boxing match is harder than an Ironman? Basketball is harder than long distance, open-ocean swimming? I would say the hardest sports are those with the highest failure rates. By it's very nature, failure is the result of a challenge that was simply too difficult.

By this metric the hardest sports are almost certainly the most popular professional team sports. How many thousands/millions of people dream of making say, the nfl, and fail to do so?

Dylan Colon wrote: By this metric the hardest sports are almost certainly the most popular professional team sports. How many thousands/millions of people dream of making say, the nfl, and fail to do so?

That's a career goal, not a goal to simply complete the football game. I am speaking to the failure rate of the activity itself. To truly compare, we would need an equal duration of each activity under study. This study is like comparing applies to houses. I am sure there are tons of boxers who find running, swimming, ect. to be harder than boxing and vise versa.

Not difficult at all ...anyone can do it... this is proven be all the varied folk on MP.

I'd say big wall free soloing is just behind bare knuckle fights to the death.

I wouldn't underestimate the athleticism and skill required to finish a 12 round boxing match on your feet. And I doubt that many boxers would find running harder than boxing, most of the ones I know run 5 miles a day or more when training.

20 kN wrote: I would say the hardest sports are those with the highest failure rates. By it's very nature, failure is the result of a challenge that was simply too difficult.

That completely depends on what you consider as success & failure.

20 kN wrote: A boxing match is harder than an Ironman? Basketball is harder than long distance, open-ocean swimming?

Beat a pro boxer (or even last a round) is easier than completing an ironman? Win a one-on-one against an NBA player is easier than finishing an open-ocean swim? How about redpoint a 5.15 or boulder a V15? If you don't have the talent, those things simply ain't happening. It's not just about the effort of the actual event, but the effort required to get there (if that alone is even enough).

reboot wrote: That completely depends on what you consider as success & failure. Beat a pro boxer (or even last a round) is easier than completing an ironman? Win a one-on-one against an NBA player is easier than finishing an open-ocean swim? How about redpoint a 5.15 or boulder a V15? If you don't have the talent, those things simply ain't happening. It's not just about the effort of the actual event, but the effort required to get there (if that alone is even enough).

Pro boxer vs just finishing an Ironman with any passable score? That's not an even comparison. Applies to apples would be more like which is harder, finishing a round with a pro boxer or placing in the top 10 in the Ironman World Championship? How about one-on-one with an NBA player or swimming across the Pacific ocean?

If it's about the effort required to get to the point that you are fluent in the sport, wouldn't it make sense for us to talk about the effort required to become dead average in the sport? If we are speaking to the effort required to be the ring leader, then the study pertains to exactly one person in the entire world, making it kind of a pointless study. So, how much effort would it take to become a dead average rock climber, triathlete, marathon runner or boxer? Which is hardest?

I'm curious to know if anyone on MP has stepped into a ring. I go to a boxing gym and participate in the exercise routines for the fitness. Notice I didn't say I box. I would never, ever, consider stepping into a ring with someone who knows what they are doing after having just the slightest hint of boxing that I've done. Boxing is serious business.

What about UFC?

Ray Lovestead wrote:I'm curious to know if anyone on MP has stepped into a ring. I go to a boxing gym and participate in the exercise routines for the fitness. Notice I didn't say I box. I would never, ever, consider stepping into a ring with someone who knows what they are doing after having just the slightest hint of boxing that I've done. Boxing is serious business. What about UFC?

Kelly Cordes was a boxer in college and I think he may post here occasionally. Said he thought his boxing history helped his alpine climbing.

Do the people at ESPN really think that Badminton, which is ranked 30th is equal in difficultly to that of Nordic Skiing, which is also ranked 30th.

The people at ESPN obviously have never classic skied or skate skied up a steep hill, while having their heart explode out of their chest.

Nordic skiing is definitely one of the most demanding sports technically and physically, that one can participate in. Some races are as long as 50 kilometers in length over hilly terrain with ever changing wax requirements.

Nordic skiing is also very technical and demanding from the technique standpoint. Flaws in technique result in wasted energy.

Just one person's opinion!

20 kN wrote: Pro boxer vs just finishing an Ironman with any passable score? That's not an even comparison. Applies to apples would be more like which is harder, finishing a round with a pro boxer or placing in the top 10 in the Ironman World Championship? How about one-on-one with an NBA player or swimming across the Pacific ocean? If it's about the effort required to get to the point that you are fluent in the sport, wouldn't it make sense for us to talk about the effort required to become dead average in the sport? If we are speaking to the effort required to be the ring leader, then the study pertains to exactly one person in the entire world, making it kind of a pointless study.

I said last 1 round w/ a pro boxer, not beat one. There are thousands of pro boxers in the world. Placing in the top 10 in the Ironman World Championship makes you, well, one of the top 10. There are also ~450 active NBA players. No one has swam across the pacific. But seriously, you really think participating in a mostly amateur sport is harder than making it as a pro athlete?

20 kN wrote: So, how much effort would it take to become a dead average rock climber, triathlete, marathon runner or boxer? Which is hardest?

An average boxer, by far. Just because you can throw a punch does not make you a boxer. It's still a sport w/ huge payoff & stiff competition.

Ray Lovestead wrote:I'm curious to know if anyone on MP has stepped into a ring.

With head gear against a Pro-Am boxer that I outweigh by 20 pounds & has already gone 8-10 rounds w/ different sparring partners. I did land some clean shots, even managed to stun him with a few, but that's all.

Through martial arts training I've also held horse stance for 90 minutes continuously. But just because a round of boxing is only 3 minutes does not make it easier than suffering for much longer.

reboot wrote: With head gear against a Pro-Am boxer that I outweigh by 20 pounds & has already gone 8-10 rounds w/ different sparring partners. I did land some clean shots, even managed to stun him with a few, but that's all. Through martial arts training I've also held horse stance for 90 minutes continuously. But just because a round of boxing is only 3 minutes does not make it easier than suffering for much longer.

Yes I would think taking up boxing will be much harder than starting to rock climb ... People tend to call climbing in gyms rock climbing ..as I said anyone even your Grannie can do some sort of climbing,or as proven every day very young kids can run up some of the hardest sport climbs . Granted these higher grades require some fitness and technique ...but if you can walk you will be able to climb straight away... at least in the lower grades .... ..

I think it's important to consider intensity.

I've done two Ironman's, though more than 15 years ago. I'm not in good aerobic shape. Yet, I'm 100% confident that in 6 months that I could build up to a nice 12:30 to 14:00 mid pack finish. It might even be fun. Unless you're intending a sub 11 or more likely sub 10 ironman, it's just not that hard. It's a long slow day where a lot of people cheer for you and say you're awesome. The structure definitely makes it feel easier. I've had harder alpine days.

Boxing, well, it doesn't really have a variable intensity. If you assume that the guy in the ring also wants to win and is physically similar to you, it's going to be hard. I'm winded after about 30 seconds on a heavy bag.

Climbing is the same. Head-down-ass-up trad nature hikes vs hard sport vs bouldering vs alpine. What do you even use to quantify it?

Offwidth feels pretty hard. Maybe the hardest

We shouldn't be comparing professional athletes to amateur climbers in this. It should be either a discussion of amateur v. amateur or pro v. pro. Even at that, it is impossible to compare the many different aspects of each sport accurately.

Eric Chabot wrote:Offwidth feels pretty hard. Maybe the hardest

I think many people find the hardest climbs are those that if you fall when leading you are going to seriously hurt yourself,,,and rarely if ever does that include crack climbing.