Is climbing a way of life or a hobby?

[Heinouscling]

This topic comes up every now and again when conversing with my non climbing friends and relatives. My life consists of basically two things, which is work and climbing. Friends and relatives ask me how I can spend so much time on only one hobby. I respond that I am not so sure that what I do can be considered just a hobby but rather a way of life. One could say that since I have a non-climbing related job, I am not truly experiencing the "climbing" way of life, if such a thing exists, which is what this topic is about. Maybe in a year, after I quit my job, which I am on track to do and climb even more (provided my body allows it) then maybe I will be experiencing the "climbing" way of life. So, my question is, when does something such as climbing become a way of life and when is it just a hobby?

 

 

-Heinous

[whillans]

Drinking is a way of life...

Climbing is just a way of passing the time between drinks and of meeting people t drink with.

[krazy_1]

a climber i am ....... other things i do.

[Cpt.Caveman]

whillans I drink more than you ever can imaging. So try and keep up next time instead of smoking to compensate.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Well, despite usually spending all of Spring and Fall at Smith, and another few weeks on the road in between and wallowing in the gym the rest of the time, the Doctor never climbs as much as he wants to. He thinks about climbing constantly, reads climbing magazines and guidebooks, watches climbing videos, checks out climbing shit on the internet, posts on climbing message boards, mimes out sequences to routes in restaurants and such, climbs on most anything available, hangs out with people who climb, talks to those people about climbing, and participates in approximately zero other sports, minus a river here or a hike there.

 

So for Dr. Flash Amazing, climbing would have to qualify as "way of life" rather than "hobby."

 

Now someone hurry up and slag the Doctor for being a sport climber and spending time at the gym. PLEASE.

[thelawgoddess]

quote:

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Main Entry: hobby

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural hobbies

Etymology: short for hobbyhorse

Date: 1816

: a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation

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so, i guess the question might then become ... do you do it for relaxation?

 

or are you just obsessed?

[ILuvAliens]

quote:

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Now someone hurry up and slag the Doctor for being a sport climber and spending time at the gym. PLEASE.

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Na! I'd rather just call you a wanker and leave it at that. Maybe next time.

 

Climbing is fun, that is all.

[allthumbs]

quote:

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by Dr Flash: Now someone hurry up and slag the Doctor for being a sport climber and spending time at the gym.

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[ 09-19-2002, 06:07 PM: Message edited by: trask ]

[glen]

Nice one TLG.

 

Perhaps another spin on it is whether or not we climb because of the type of person we are (ie, an outgrowth of personality), or if climbing is a way of life that we more or less buy into. If climbing is a way of life, it could be that those that are more committed to spending time climbing may simply have personalities that cater to that. For example, a person may like climbing as a way to challenge themselves in both a physical and mental forum. If that person also goes out of their way to do challenge themselves in all aspects of life, I would argue that climbing is a particularly clear example of a way of life.

 

just a thought.

 

a lot of people climb a lot and it is just a hobby.