Motivations and the 2008 BMC International Meet.

Below is a piece of writing I gave to UKC for an editorial. I am glad to say it caused quite a stir...nice. To quote a friend, "you're writing is like Marmite, love it or hate it, it always gets an opinion."...The worst thing would have been to have had no response.

I have also added a few pics from the recent International Meet where i had the privilege of climbing all week with Nicolas Favresse. I thought it quite fitting to put the Motivations essay and the International Meet pics on the blog together.

Climbing with possibly one of the worlds most talented, unassuming climbers really puts everything into context. Here is a guy who pulls down so hard he could have the climbing world at his feet, he could bragg, boast and look down at nearly everyone...But he doesn't. He climbs because he loves to climb...   

MOTIVATIONS?

Experiences, adventure, passion and love are important, a sense of belonging is important. Climbing to the general population is not important.

We as climbers swim in bags carried from the fair, on occasion ego’s push against the plastic.

I consider my climbing as personal and at the top of my ability, certainly not cutting edge but in the past, on occasion, my upward motion had me thinking I was better than others. I am glad to say, with age and understanding these feelings have relented. Unfortunately, some of the ‘top-climbers’ in Britain do not appear to be like this, image to them is important for whatever reason, but image is nothing. The act of climbing should be individual expression, forget about impressing others.

Life is a journey and climbing should be an adventure and enlightenment at whatever level, we should support each other. Climbers performing at the cutting edge should be climbing first for the adventure and love of the activity and secondly to inspire and encourage. Forget the profile, the sponsorship deal and the ego.

Logo splattered, sterile and posed pictures in magazines are becoming frequent. They offend me and I find myself questioning motivation. Should it matter? To me, actually, it does. Beautiful set-up poses are glamorising and belittling an activity I hold higher than most other things.

The Internet is an amazing source of information, but I have started to wonder what is motivating what… Blog to inspire or climb to blog? 

If you are up there climbing with the best, appearing in the magazines, climbing new routes and climbs at the top of the grade, be honest with your-self when you submit the report. That really hard practised climb you beat into submission… Yes, a fine physical achievement but did you persevere for adventure or upward motion of another type?  

Am I just envious?

Maybe a twinge, because I know if the climbs on the blogs, in the mags and on the Internet are climbed for the sheer joy of being out there, climbers pushing themselves to the limit, climbers finding liberation from the sane-sterility while bordering on the insane and screaming fuck-off to a cotton-wool society…Then envious definitely of the emotions, the experience.

Scottish winter climbing is adventure, but for how long? Top-roping and pre-inspection is now acceptable when limits are pushed, but will it lead to people using the same tactics on climbs of a lower grade and why shouldn’t they? Winter climbing in Britain should be hard, cold and uncomfortable…shafts of light cutting through clouds, shimmering lochs in the distance from a summit…an unforgettable experience. Winter climbing in Britain should be the domain of people who understand, not people who see a glamorous article and then dabble. Elitist…possibly, but we will read less about rescues and accidents when you go out expecting a fight. Climbing always has been, and in my opinion, should always remain a diverse activity for the minority.

‘British climbers will fall behind in standards if we don’t have the really hard technical bolted climbs of abroad or we only on-sight’…Who cares?

We all climb for different reasons but I feel its time to take stock and slow down, let’s celebrate inspirational and remarkable at whatever standard and reduce the glamorising. Everest is lost, we should cut it loose so it can float away on its ship of media madness and let us cling to what we have left before it’s too late.

Alpinism is the dirty relative of Scottish winter climbing, there are not so many nice shots here and Super-Alpinism is disgustingly messy. No nice set-up-images to be had…hardly worth doing? To be involved with Super-Alpinisim the climber has to be prepared to get weak, throw up a little, fight red-tape, bribe officials, spend months away from the gym and be out of contact…Relationships at home fall apart, you’re bank account haemorrhage's and it takes months to regain the grade you climbed a year before. But succeed or fail, you will have gained more, you will have Yak bells ringing as the loaded beasts trot along the dusty track. You will have the early morning wood smoke hazing the view to the churning river in the valley below. You will have a memory and experience that will last for life.