Bouldering is Goofy.

[Dwayner]

Is it just me? Or do other people out there think that bouldering is pretty dang GOOFY?

Sure, I've done it, and it was sort of fun...for about five minutes. Fully realizing that climbers are for the most part, in the words of one of the alpine greats, "conquistadores of the useless", bouldering as an end in itself seems to be a bit, well, GOOFY. I give it good marks on the environmental scale if the chalk washes off, but you gotta admit, a bunch of characters walking around with overpriced, glorified mattresses strapped to their backs in pursuit of 15 feet of tiny holds seems to be on the very silly side. Just my opinion; do your own thing, I ain't gonna stop you. Ain't even hunting for spray and don't want no personal attacks. Just want to know:

a) do other people think the whole boulder specialist thing is more frivilous than most? (I'm waiting for the new boulder glossy mag's to appear).

b) if this is your thing, perhaps you could convince some of us skeptics that this is not absurd? (please don't cite John Gill, "focus", the general pointlessness of climbing in general, or its utility for training for "real climbs", which we're all aware of.)

Just want to know, that's all.

- aloha, Dwayner, who just wants to know.

[This message has been edited by Dwayner (edited 09-14-2001).]

[Dennis_the_Menace]

I do not get it either.

[Lambone]

Lots of people think ropes, harnesses, biners, nuts, and cams are pretty goofy too

[offwidthclimber]

yo, i'm one of those silly pad toting folks even got a chalk pot and a nylon brushes or two. in fact, i've only been on rope twice in the last 10 months since leaving seattle, whereas i never used to boulder (besides the UW rock).

mainly started because i moved to a new place and didn't have any partners and it was winter and most people don't get too excited about climbing in 28 degree weather unless it involves swingin' ice tools. anyway, the rock where i normally boulder (tubbs hill in coeur d'alene) is more or less undeveloped, so it's been fun finding new boulders and problems.

anyway, i still enjoy trad and sport climbing, but will probably remain more of a boulderer because it's fun and easy to work into my schedule several times a week.

yeah, it seems a bit goofy - trying to conquer 15' of rock, but it's good fun and gets ya strong. you also get to work a lot of varied techniques - cracks, roofs, friction slabs, slopers, crimps, etc. and it's the closest rock around here. i like being able to drive all of 2 minutes and head out with 3 or 4 friends to a place very few people climb at, toss down a couple pads and pull down.

besides, at the end of a perfect, sunny winter day while sitting on the beach, surrounded by virgin boulders, silence, and a beautiful still lake, that crash pad makes a hell of a futon for drinkin' some brew ...which brings up another point - it's the only type of climbing you can do "safely" while swillin'!

hopefully, i'll be able to haul my rack and pad over for the fall ropeup so you guys will have a pad totin' goofball to chuckle at

peace, and north idaho bouldering: http://www.exploreidaho.com/bouldering

[max]

yep. love goofy things. I think one way to look at it is wh ydid people evolve from mountaineering/alpine stuff to cragging? I suspect it was the "practice" thing, but it definately moved beyond that. Now I'm sure most rock climbers would answer "no" if you asked whether or not they were training for the alpine. and so it is w/ bouldering. I think it's moved from training to something on it's own.

So I haven't answer "Why is it goofy" Well, I think since being goofy is a judgement/opinion thing, it's like asking "why does guacamole taste good/bad" ya' can't answer it.

Yeah, those pads seemed silly to me too. I just moved to Boulder and I went to this bouldering area.. oh Lord! SCARY landings in huge rock and general yuck.

I will also say there has been a shameless marketing campain of bouldering-specific clothing and to some extent, gear. But this is true in general: marketing is going nuts.

dave

[haireball]

"Because it's there" - ain't that about the goofiest thing we ever heard? and he wasn't talkin' about no boulder...

[ScottP]

quote:

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Originally posted by haireball:

"Because it's there" - ain't that about the goofiest thing we ever heard? and he wasn't talkin' about no boulder...

---

He was being facetious.

 

[pope]

Dwayner, I think you've got a point. The bouldering "culture" is completely perplexing to me. You meet some of these bouldering enthusiasts and you quickly get the impression that there's some kind of trendy mania out there....as though puttin' around on a boulder has only recently been discovered, as if it defines the cutting edge of what's hip and remarkable in the climbing circle. I recently talked to an active climber who said he hadn't tied into a rope in 17 months (he shared this fact with a self-satisfied expression on his mug). He seemed to genuinely understand that he was part of something special, that he was propelling climbing in a new direction.

And anybody with business sense can see the opportunity for profit: those who help define bouldering culture and all of its little mattress-totin' quirks, will want to be identified immediately when they arrive on the scene. They will need little bouldering outfits, baggy pants, hemp wallets, sandles....just in case the goofy mattress doesn't get noticed.

I've got no problem with all of this...it's just perplexing, in the same way rapping down a cliff and drilling bolts can somehow be mistaken for free climbig. But bouldering is environmentally friendly, so I'm not going to devote a single minute to bitching at its practitioners. And I do see the focus of climbing evolving, from macro to micro: from Everest, to big walls, to cragging, to 40-foot sport routes, and now bouldering. I still think the next wrinkle will be some group of wankers trying to distinguish themselves by specializing in sit starts. They're going to need trendy pants with reinforced butt pads.

[jason_h]

Goofy eh? yeah i'm very much in agreement that the crash pad toting crowd looks a bit goofy walking up to the rocks, but hey, take a look at those gaiters next time. those things look just silly and glacier glasses aren't exactly trendy, and if your one of those dudes that wears shorts over long johns and nothing else, well that takes the cake on the goofy scale. bouldering may be a little more frivolous than other climbing, but i'd argue that were just splitting hairs here holding to the fact that all climbing is frivolous. bouldering is also fun simply because of the social aspect, while you all hang out on this bullitin board spraying and socializing boulderers can do it at the rocks. convince you guys that it's not frivolous, don't care what you all think.

lates

[erik]

the only part i like is spotin' the ladies. matter of fact the ask you! "hey you mind staring at my ass and then letting fall into your arms, while i grunt and moan. in retrospect i think only women should boulder. and ladies i spot real well!!!!!

as far as training goes, i think if i wanted to exclusivly climb for 15 ft, then i would do it. but since i like to climb 15oo ft, i 'll ust work on that!!

back to the midnight hours!

 

[pope]

jason_h, I must agree. Goofy outfits pervade the mountaineering circle, and shorts over polypro, together with glacier glasses and clown-white noses...well, these guys aren't going to score any phone numbers looking like that. And are climbing's other aspects also frivolous? You bet. Just like riding a skate board or collecting beanie babies, climbing is for amusement, and those who don't find it amusing will never understand the point. I'm sure that's half the appeal of the new bouldering craze: you can feel enlightened to be so focused on something that other climbers just don't understand. You can belong to an exclusive subculture and derive self-satisfaction thereby. But remember, putting around on a boulder doesn't automatically make you hip...folks have been doing that for decades. No, if you want to join the subculture, you've got to wear the trendy little outfit.

[max]

two things:

1. from a tech standpoint, I bet a good boulder-er could move into the cragging (note I didn't say climbing) realm and get good quicker than a good climber could move into the bouldering scene and get good. Bouldering is so intense, it just seems you'll get real good real quick.

2. jason_h: you wouldn't ahppen to be a jason_h living in a certain southern state that begins with A, would you? I visited a jason in Flagstaff this spring that was from my HT while up from cochise...

[viktor]

strange topic, but I'd like to point out that bouldering is hardly "environmentally friendly" Around here, boulderers are like the mountaineers. They travel in numbers and pummel the meadows to dust. Yea, I know, at least they don't drill holes in the rock. It seems to me that land managers are getting more focused on bouldering's impact. Regardless, there are more important issues to dwell on these days.

[Dru]

Yeah back in the day (1997 at places like Kelowna) they would create '1 bolt' sport climbs on 5 m high chunks of rock. Nowadays they boulder it instead! Take up bouldering - get bold - no more sissy bolts.

[Sargent_Rock]

Yes, bouldering is goofy! Pointless, meaningless, and selfish too. Just like all other climbing (can you imagine anything more foolish than lashing your self to a Big Wall for days at a time?)

Given the recent events in the News, bouldering and climbing seem like rather trival pursuits.

But, then, isn't that the reason for this sport: to go to the hills, to find some peace from the color of the sky, to get some joy from the smell of the air and the warm feel of firm rock?

Bouldering can provide some good exercise/training, some fun times with friends, some peaceful moments in the open air. Isn't that enough value for your time?

[Alpine_Tom]

quote:

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Originally posted by ScottP:

He was being facetious.

---

I don't think that Mallory was being facetious with his "because it's there" justification for climbing Mt. Everest. The full context of the remark begins with him saying, (to paraphrase) "We justify the desire to climb Everest in terms of gaining scientific knowledge about physiology and geology and try to find fossils high in the rock. But we know that’s a ruse, we want to climb it simply because it's there."

It becomes somewhat more interesting and complicated, examining the early Everest expeditions in light of the polar explorations England had engaged in over the previous decades, and questions like national masochism present themselves. But the fact is, Mallory acknowledged that there was no point in climbing Mt. Everest, except just... to climb it. Because it’s there.

And, remarkably, after almost 80 years it remains the most valid justification to do any climb, whether a first ascent in the Himalayas or Antarctica, or a weekend climb of Mt. Baker.

 

[Cpt.Caveman]

I like to boulder. Although I prefer a rope sometimes too.

Bouldering is such a stoner sport. You dont have to hang in an uncomfortable harness if you fall. You dont have to bother with all the gear. You dont have to set belays at uncomfortable stances. You can drink beer and boulder without any fear of death because you choose your limit. It is more social than climbing because you can BS with your friends and learn from them.

[ScottP]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Alpine Tom:

I don't think that Mallory was being facetious with his "because it's there" justification for climbing Mt. Everest. The full context of the remark begins with him saying, (to paraphrase) "We justify the desire to climb Everest in terms of gaining scientific knowledge about physiology and geology and try to find fossils high in the rock. But we know that’s a ruse, we want to climb it simply because it's there."

B]

---

I've read an account that is somewhat different than yours. Mallory was on a lecture tour after the 1922 expedition, trying to raise money for the 1924 attempt. Everywhere he went, he was asked mundane questions like: Was it cold? Where is Tibet? Why do you want to climb Everest? In exasperation, and not meaning to be taken seriously, he replied to the latter, "Because it is there."

Perhaps your quote comes form subsequent attempts to explain himself.

I don't know, I wasn't there.

 

[Hayduke]

Today I flashed my first V3 !!!

It was even better because there was this super hot chick watching me and her nipples were poking through her spandex bra. Mmm. I am alive!!!

I bought Damian Potts' Leavenworth bouldering guide to celebrate. Anyone use this guide?

Hayduke lives!

[Dru]

I notice in one of those full page "BuyOutdoorGear.com" ads in the latest Climbing Mag you can order a 'Bouldering Package' that, in addition to mat, bouldering bag, and chalk, comes with the all important METOLIUS KNIT BEANIE. Now anyone care to explain why toques are so fashionable with boulderers, "yo"? Is it the Canadian influence or what?

[Dwayner]

For those of you new to bouldering, may I suggest the following items to be purchased separately or as a package:

Your standard bouldering kit should include:

some special designer shorts with reinforced and padded butt-panel for those chossy sit-starts; a 14 inch tubular faux-fur-lined chalk bag to reach slightly above the elbow when fully dipped, or alternatively, a dainty little finger-dipper bag for more subtle application; a big ole overpriced folding ho-mattress with shoulder straps or if you're trad, a small piece of muddy shag carpet (now that the "sketch-pads" are becoming commonplace, no one seems to be laughing as much...but I still am...P.S. the emperor has no clothes, right pope?); an assortment of ridiculously overpriced bouldering specific rock shoes or slippers for those egregious slopers and dime edges; a thoroughly modern and hip T-shirt with logo or perhaps something Hawaiian; and less we not forget, a mouth full of "yo's", "flaco's", and "sick!'s" to add verbal flavor to the event. And yes, the knit rasta-hat to demonstrate that you are a member of the clan, "we bouldering! we don't need no ropes...just this big ole folding ho-mattress, that's all, and these special shoes, don't need nothin' more, except for this giant size chalk-bag...don't need no quickdraws, no nothin'...accept for my special costume, apart from that, I don't need nothin' else, 'cept that cooler with my sandwiches and that lawn chair over there...don't need no portaledge or nothin...etc."

Dwayner's too busy to sell you the whole mess, but if he could, he wouldn't because the whole thing still sounds GOOFY!!!

[Dru]

Yeah Alpine Tom your slip is showing!

I prefer "moo-wing" the lawn. You sit on the porch and drink Jack Daniels while the cows eat the grass.

[erik]

on that boulderng note, who is the jackass that has waaaayyyyyyyyy over chaulked that traverse at the base of the lower wall??????? it looks like shit. and i wouldn't think you would need chaulk for something you can do in your shoes!!! or am i just spraying!!!! phil whats the verditc on this one?!!~

[jason_h]

yes it is all about the trendy outfits, and grabbing the badoogis crimps. and yes, i know how long bouldering has been going on, just like i know about all the routes conrad kain put up, when he did them, and how so many climbers covet repeating those routes in their brand new gortex, polypro, and cams. the enlightenment question is just pretty much impossible to answer, it borders on the lines of a why do you climb question.

just i get tired of bouldering being dissed, granted i never use to boulder, but now that i'm climbing fulltime some days you just can't find partners and whats a better place to be on those days than in the boulders.

max-wrong jason, i'm originally from portland, never been to cochise.

[dr._jay]

hey dwayner, i got a real neat thermos i'll trade you for the whole lot. now that's all you really need. i'll even throw in the paddleball game.