Ever taken a break from climbing?

[rob]

Curious for some input...have you ever had to take a forced hiatus from climbing? How hard was it to get back into? How did you keep from slitting your wrists in the meantime?

 

Thx!

[tvashtarkatena]

Collect:

 

Kittens

Buckets

Water

 

Combine.

[G-spotter]

Curious for some input...have you ever had to take a forced hiatus from climbing? How hard was it to get back into? How did you keep from slitting your wrists in the meantime?

 

Thx!

 

can you walk, hike, or ski?

[kevbone]

Curious for some input...have you ever had to take a forced hiatus from climbing? How hard was it to get back into? How did you keep from slitting your wrists in the meantime?

 

Thx!

 

I cant call is a forced hiatus....but I have children and have decided to completely commit to them. Which means climbing has gone from twice a week to once every 3 to 4 months.

 

BTW….IMO, I get so much more from my children than I ever did from climbing.

 

[billcoe]

IMO, I get so much more from my children than I ever did from climbing.

 

Same here. I never took a hiatus, but use to bump into old friends at climbing spots and they'd say "I heard you quit climbing" as it had been so long since they'd seen me. I never did. Kids were job #1 and so much more important than climbing in so many ways.

 

"Organize and execute around written priorities" Rob. Good luck.

[ivan]

you moving to florida rob?

 

i figured if i couldn't climb anymore that scuba-diving would be the next great hobby frontier for me...

[rob]

Nah, I'm not moving anywhere (perish the thought!). It's just that I have such limited free time now that it takes an act of god to get a day (let alone two) free to go climbing.

 

My concern is that when I finally DO have time to start climbing again, I'll have forgotten everything

 

I know that sometimes, catching up can be harder than starting new.

[rob]

My other concern is that I'll shoot myself, thinking about how badly I want to be climbing. How do you guys deal with it? It's like not breathing.

 

Kevbone, yr a better man than I. I'm counting the days (years).

[JosephH]

I have, long ones. The first in my twenties because climbing really just didn't have any emotional 'bang-for-the-buck' left for me. When I got around to it again a few years later I had a grueling and semi-horrifying journey back given I had previously been climbing at a .13 level and doing lots of FA's. Nothing is more humiliating than being humongous and clueless staring up the first moves of your own climb and not having even an inkling of an idea of what to do or a chance of doing it.

 

But since then I've been in and out of climbing a dozen times including this past winter. In a perverse way I now actually enjoy losing the weight and getting back in shape. Take Sunday for instance. I did the first [trad] lead of the season on a climb I could free solo with my eyes closed last October - Sunday I backed off the approach to the crux six times shaking like a leaf. Not even the crux - just the setup for the crux. I did finally push through it, but the fat-boy-on-a-rope deal is humbling.

 

But like I said, I've been through the loop so many times now I kind of like it. I have the big advantage of having done it enough times that I don't have to worry about whether or not I can do it - whether I can come back or not to top shape - I know I can.

 

It is a challenge though, and not a small one, losing 15-30 pounds (which I've variously done) and going from a desk to a 5.xx can be just as hard and rewarding by itself. On the otherhand it's all a pain in the ass and you're better not getting out of shape. How much of a challenge it is 'coming back' would be reflected in the stats if there were any, but the attrition rate each from age 25 on is pretty remarkable and really takes off in the early 30's as kids happen - most never return to climbing.

[kevbone]

How do you guys deal with it?

 

Rob.....it’s not what happens to you that matters. It’s how you react to it that matters and shows character. If you choose not to miss it....you won’t.

[kevbone]

PS....oh yeah...I have a small climbing wall at my house.

[rob]

If you choose not to miss it....you won’t.

 

sounds like good advice, but it's not very workable. Could you choose to not miss your dick?

[kevbone]

Could you choose to not miss your dick?

 

Yes. It would be "hard".......

[KaskadskyjKozak]

If you choose not to miss it....you won’t.

 

sounds like good advice, but it's not very workable. Could you choose to not miss your dick?

 

 

I'm with Rob - you can't choose not to miss something that is a part of your life like climbing is.

 

Boner, could you give up playing guitar for several months and "choose not to miss it"?

[kevbone]

If you choose not to miss it....you won’t.

 

sounds like good advice, but it's not very workable. Could you choose to not miss your dick?

 

 

I'm with Rob - you can't choose not to miss something that is a part of your life like climbing is.

 

Boner, could you give up playing guitar for several months and "choose not to miss it"?

 

Yes......Mind over matter my friend. if I did not choose not to miss climbing I would drive myself batty......

[G-spotter]

so obviously it isn't working cause you got more bats than wayne manor

[Bug]

I have been raising kids for 13 years now. It has been worth it and yes there were some very depressing times.

I get back into it slowly to avoid tendonitis. The last three years have been hell because I have a bit more time but my right knee was screwed.

Either work out those tendons at home regularly or start back slowly. I also get out at least a couple times a year to do some solo aid climbing. No pins but I take a small hammer to back out well set wires. It is not that much fun when you really want to be free climbing but it keeps your gear placement skills honed pretty well. That way I can push myself on lead without getting all freaked out about my placements.

 

I know it seems like the end of the world but according to the Mayan calendar we have a couple more years.

[olyclimber]

Sometimes I just swear off air for seconds at a time. Its all in the mind folks! Seriously, you don't miss it at all!

[JosephH]

This is one of those rare, almost-too-difficult-to-take moments when I'm in complete agreement with Kev - well said.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

so obviously it isn't working cause you got more bats than wayne manor

 

[hafilax]

You make space in your life for the things that are important to you. If you are sacrificing something that you enjoy in your life for something that you don't enjoy, you will not be happy.

 

I hope that people that give up their hobbies for their children look at their kids and think 'It is worth it!'. If not, they are doing themselves and their kids a great injustice.

 

I have traded in a number of hobbies through the years but I have always remained active. I can be happy doing any number of things as long as my mind and body are getting a work out. As a result, I've never really understood people that get tunnel vision on one activity.

 

I disagree with Kevbone's mind over mind philosophy. You can only convince yourself that you are happy for so long. Otherwise you have to take steps in order to set your priorities straight. It's hard to be a good parent and be unhappy.

[ivan]

if i stopped climbing i would kill my kids, my wife, my neighbors, everybody in safeway, anyone driving a prius or a ford truck, non-smokers, the religious, the spastic, every "john" in the world, anyone to the political right or left of me, and generally everyone i randomly ran into - it is for the good of the global world order then that i fritter away the best days of my life in meaningless combats far from the eyes of the disinterested

[kevbone]

You can only convince yourself that you are happy for so long. Otherwise you have to take steps in order to set your priorities straight. It's hard to be a good parent and be unhappy.

 

 

that is a unique interpretation of what I wrote. I never said that. I said......

 

The fact that you cant climb anymore is irrelevant. How you react to not climbing is everything. Your choice to care or not will make or break you.

[kevbone]

if i stopped climbing i would kill my kids, my wife, my neighbors, everybody in safeway, anyone driving a prius or a ford truck, non-smokers, the religious, the spastic, every "john" in the world, anyone to the political right or left of me, and generally everyone i randomly ran into - it is for the good of the global world order then that i fritter away the best days of my life in meaningless combats far from the eyes of the disinterested

 

So in other words...you are incredibly selfish...

[mattp]

Rob, I have been climbing for 35+ years and anybody who has pursued anything for that long has taken a hiatus. Clearly, Joseph is right: you CAN and if you want to you WILL get back into it whenever you have the opportunity and want to do so. And I think Kevbone is right too in that you have SOME control over how you react to any imposed abstinence. But how NOT to slit your wrists? You better have or find SOMETHING else that keeps you engaged or you might well go crazy. Good luck and the crags WILL still be there whenever you want to return. Its not like you are talking about foregoing anything REALLY important.