Car-to-car

[JoshK]

So I made a realization about my climbing this summer. When I first got into cimbing I started the "traditional" way, meaning taking an extra day or so for the approach and deproach and leaving an entire (or most of a) day for the climb itself. Then I figured out how to go fast and light and started doing everything in a physco day that I could. In the last year I have transistioned back to doing things in more than a day. Why? I guess I'm not sure.

 

Obviously it is a bit easier on the body, but I suppose I started to buy into the whole "enjoy the scenery" notion and all that. In reality, I have found that if I can afford the extra time, what in the hell is the point of trying to whip something long out in a day? To chestbeat? To purposely make it more difficult? Has anybody else thought about this and what makes them do stuff in one day versus more than one day? What reasons make you choose one or the other?

 

Maybe I'll go back to doing stuff almost exclusive in a day when I can, but for now I think I am happier doing thins fast but not ridiculously fast. It also generally removes the nescessity to leave at a physco early hour since you have some extra time. Another added bonus I can often get in a bonus summit if I have that extra approach/deproach day.

 

What do others think?

[olyclimber]

I suppose it depends on how much time you have vs. your objectives.

[catbirdseat]

There are argument for and against both approaches. I'd say just go with what you feel like at the time.

[Squid]

There's alot to be said for leaving all the encumbrances behind, and pushing to go quickly.

 

I'm following a similar trajectory, but I'm really happy to have learned what I can leave behind. No matter how long I choose to go out for, I enjoy the journey more if I'm not loaded down like a packmule.

 

I wonder how much of that '10-essentials' indoctrination we go through is simply marketing hype from gear stores.

[mec]

knowing how to go quick and lite can definitely make those longer trips go more pleasantly. You can learn what you can live without and still be safe. instead of taking the whole kitchen and wardrobe with you on those longer trips.

[TeleRoss]

For me it usually comes down to the time available factor

It is also fun to see how far you can actually go in a day.

[Stefan]

In the last year I have transistioned back to doing things in more than a day. Why? I guess I'm not sure.

 

IMO: You are getting older and finding the value how your time is spent. But mainly you are getting older.

 

For me I still have to push the car to car. I got two kids under 5 and a wife that hates my hobby. I dream of taking it easy.

[thelawgoddess]

not having to carry all of that extra stuff!

[skykilo]

I go on lots of trips that I realistically shouldn't, given stupid things like responsibilities. This means that I can only take a small chunk of time. I also have great difficulty making myself think small. Add megalomaniacal tendencies to these initial conditions and the obvious outcome is the bigness with the quickness.

 

Got a day? Let's make it happen.

To quote Nas from his second album (as opposed to the kick-ass first one with Life's a bitch and then you die, that's why we get high... ): I never sleep, 'cuz sleep is the cousin of death. Or was that actually on the first and then sampled on the second? I digress.

And like BenMan would say, "Sleep is for pu$$!#s. You can sleep during the work week."

 

Time is a luxury. Enjoy it. Josh, where was your time when I was in CO hoser???

[Off_White]

Well, for some of us who espouse a somewhat slower approach, the fact that we can't do it in a day does color our choices.

 

I was a backpacker before I was a climber, so I've always liked that time spent out and about. Rock climbing pretty much shut down the backpacking stuff for a few years, and embracing alpine climbing was what put the two things together. Too much of the modern world is about hurry up, be productive, get it done: as if virtue belongs to the hyperactive. For me, there's just not enough idleness in my life, so I'd hate to strip it out of what I do for fun.

 

That's not a diss to you fast folk, I understand your urges and am impressed by the speed of your outings. I can definitely see the value as part of a "training for the greater ranges" program too. What I purely don't understand is the intentional gearless bivies I've read some people undertaking. Some of my most unpleasant night's sleep has come from an unintentional bivy without gear, I couldn't imagine planning it for the sake of saving a couple pounds of sleeping bag in my pack. But hey, it takes a lot of colors to make a rainbow.

[Off_White]

Heh, Sky's musical references reminded me of the old Wierd Al tune: I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead.

[Dru]

But hey, it only takes about 5 drinks and a 7-layer burrito to PUKE a rainbow

[skykilo]

Necessity is the mother of invention.

 

Lack of time-> fast.

 

Lack of money-> no light bag. Heavy bulky bag? No thanks, no bag.

 

Donations?

[Thinker]

I suppose it depends on how much time you have vs. your objectives.

 

In almost every case (except ice climbing), your objectives will be around for a much longer time that you will.

 

So does that mean one should hurry thru and summit as many peaks as possible...or savor the moments on the best journies? Take time to make the side trip to the waterfall? stop to bask in the sunny meadow filled with wild flowers? take an extra 30 minutes in the morning to enjoy a cuppa french pressed java and watch the world wake up?

 

a classic case of quantity vs quality.

[olyclimber]

In my Treaty of A Life Well Lived, I recommend determining your objectives, and ordering your journeys rationally in order to achieve your goals while at the same time enjoying yourself.

[Squid]

In my Treaty of A Life Well Lived, I recommend determining your objectives, and ordering your journeys rationally so your feet don't hurt.

[forrest_m]

yes, quality vs. quantity, but there's more than one way to define quality. the quality of my experience is inversely proportional to the amount of stuff i'm hauling. CTC lets me carry a daypack instead of overnight gear.

 

(with an 8-month old daughter, i'm also with stefan in the limited time category, so this is partly lemonade-out-of-lemons)

[skykilo]

Let's not forget those brilliant moments toward the end of a (20+)-hour day when you're walking down the trail, the endorphins are killing all pain, the trees and plants appear to move and do strange things like animals, and there is not a rational thought in your head. I find moments like these very zen. I could care less about anything and my elation is absolute. Holy shit I gotta go...

[spicoli11]

I like to run, i like to walk, i like to sit, i then eat, drink, sleep. Wouldn't one with limited time want to sit to see the most???

[glassgowkiss]

for me is just i don't like heavy packs and i also don't like to be cold at night, so i try to go car to car. plus i like looking back and see the milage covered, not like a chest beat, but more like my personal test.

[Lowell_Skoog]

As you might expect, this is not a new question:

 

"Some mountaineers are proud of having done all their climbs without bivouac. How much they have missed! And the same applies to those who enjoy only rock climbing, or only the ice climbs, only the ridges or the faces. We should refuse none of the thousand and one joys that the mountains offer us at every turn. We should brush nothing aside, set no restrictions. We should experience hunger and thirst, be able to go fast, but also know how to go slowly and to contemplate."

 

--Gaston Rebuffat

Starlight and Storm

[JoshK]

It's not the age thing, I am certainly not near the age of "physiological" slow down.

 

But most of the reasons people have listed are the tradeoffs I think of too. One nice thing is that an overnight for me generally requires only the addition of a 1 pound sleeping bag and an 8 oz stove kit if I feel like it. Throw in 8oz worth of overnight random essentials and it is an extra 2 pounds or so, which is a tiny difference.

 

But I definitely agree, there are times when I want to go car-to-car (or need to) but I guess I just consider that second option of not going day-to-day more now.

 

Overnight or not, one thing is for sure - light and fast is the only way to go. I can't believe the heavy crap I carried early on.

[Couloir]

For me I still have to push the car to car. I got two kids under 5 and a wife that hates my hobby. I dream of taking it easy.

Exactly. I would love to stay out there for days. But I sacrifice the joy of being out there longer for going out and back as fast as possible, and hopefully, being able to justify going out more often.

[Couloir]

Great topic by the way!

[ivan]

how come none of you foo's said you driven to go car to car so you can get back and give the wife/girlfriend the old pickle-tickle 'fore you explode?