What you don't know now

[allison]

As a corrollary, I'd like to suggest that we share what we don't know now that we knew before.

 

I will go first.

 

I climb less and less, but do more things that I should maybe rope up for. I always question when what I do that is 5th class, with a full pack, for a few moves, but I never question it that much, as I still do it. But..it is not with much fear or reservation. I wonder in my case just how far this will go. Full-on alpine 5th, even easy, spooks me if it is exposed. I am a sporto to the core on the 5th class front. But if it is scrambly and not exposed with a little 5th, who cares and it's over in a sec.

 

I think my condition is mild, comparatively speaking, and would like to hear what others do now that they wouldn't have done before they knew when they were climbing 5th, and when they were scrambling 3rd. I've come to the common perspective that there is no such thing as 4th class, except really steep greasy heather which by my definition can be 4th.

[Alpine_Tom]

I've soloed stuff that I wouldn't do now. Like my winter solo climb of Big 4, which looking back just seems like asking for disaster, and soloing Fisher Chimneys, with a nice long crossing on the crevassed upper Price Glacier. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, or becoming more aware of the dangers. Ironically, I'm probably a better (certainly more experienced) climber now than I was then, so it would be safer for me now than it was then. Go figure.

[klenke]

Usually in my case when soloing a face, something that looks easy (4th class) from below turns out to be harder (5th class) once you're on it. You therefore have no escape but to continue climbing because it's easier to upclimb class 5 than downclimb it. Also, when I find myself in these predicaments (last time was last Saturday), I usually don't have a means with which to "break out the rope" and begin belayed travel, etc.

 

I call it the "Cheating Death" thing and it seems like I do it 4 or 5 times a year. I'd like to get this number down to, oh, sayy 0 times per year.

[Lambone]

U'm no offense Miss Allison, but what the hell are you talking about?

[allison]

What do you do now, in terms of exposing yourself to risk, that you would have never done when you were new? Maybe things that reasonable people would maybe find a bit on the extreme side, but that seem like no big thing to you, unless you think about it, and then there's maybe some real danger in it.

[Lambone]

oh, now I get it...

 

um, I generaly take less risk these days, and now I realize that alot of things I once thought were dangerous are much safer than what I used to do.

 

aAthough, when I was just starting out I would have never elected to camp on top of Glacier Peak

 

[ 10-04-2002, 01:46 PM: Message edited by: Lambone ]

[COL._Von_Spanker]

My second sport lead ever was Gumby Direct. Now getting to the first bold scares me a little. I don't know why though. I used to jumb on anything, but after fracturing my skull and breaking a collar bone I've mellowed out some, though I still find myself inadvertantly climing the "first pitch" of certain routes.

[Stefan]

I go harder and further than I used to becuase I am more further intuned into what is possible. I now try to start at the crack of dawn and finish by evening light. Wasted daylight is wasted climbing time for me.

 

I am less cautious now than when I was younger becuase I have more confidence in myself.

 

I have also come to the realization that I can't climb everything and go everywhere.....and that makes me a little sad.....

[texplorer]

I think I used to be a bold trad leader really running it out. It allowed me to climber harder grades but at the expense of safety. Now I still run it out but I'm a much better climber so the risk is more reasonable now.

 

In another note: Some of my first "climbing" experiences were as an adventurous backpacker soloing up short sections of rock probably even as hard as 5.9. After I started climbing I became more conservative and would always rope up for such climbing but now I seem to have come full circle and am drawn to solo things now that I wouldn't have dreamed of before. Go figure?

[Geek_the_Greek]

I used to believe shit like "when in doubt, run it out". I'm glad I figured out what moronic advice this is.

[MtnHigh]

Years ago when mountains and climbing first spurred my interest I soloed dozens of class 3-4 climbs throughout the N. Cascades. Often I was scared shitless, yet I loved and managed the element of perceived fear and risk.

 

Now I climb with only a few partners, all of which are much younger and most of which are better climbers than I. We all like to move quickly and efficiently. To do so often means no rope or simul climbing on exposed or difficult medium. Again, for me this equates to the subjection of some degree of risk. Each year more difficult routes are attempted in the form of technical difficultly, commitment, environment hazards, etc.

 

Has the risk increased? The calculation of risk on each move, pitch or climb is individual and isolated. Is risk increased with an increase in route difficultly or does experience and confidence decrease risk? It is difficult to measure.