A Bit Too Much Project / Ego Hysteria

Lately, all my friends (or should I say the people I climb with the most) seem to be stoked on their new FA Projects: Projects being a route (series of climbing holds/moves) that is at ones personal physical and mental limit; FA meaning First Accent or simply being the first to complete it. I too have jumped on the FA bandwagon with a short list of semisecret projects which got me thinking…

Why do I give a shit if I am the first to climb something? Why do other people?

I tried my best to go through all the rational reasons I could come up with. I quickly found it easiest to then lump these ideas into general topics. This is what it ended up looking like:

1) Because they desire to make the journey their own. And in doing so they feel that they must leave the “beaten path” and seek out climbs that are undiscovered. I list this as the first rationale because it is the one I choose to subscribe to personally. However, as I’ve meditated on it I’ve come to see this validation as flawed. If my true intent was discovery; then why should there be any emphasis on the actual FIRST accent? Shouldn’t I be satisfied with the knowledge that I got out and did just what I intended to do? Should I not take pleasure in the fact that my sighting might serve as muse for others?

2) Or maybe it’s because one feels as if they can express themselves through the process of envisioning the line, then working the moves, then putting all their mental effort into action through physical exertion. The manufacturing of a new route is not unlike that of a well choreographed dance. The principle must be creative, poised, and prepared to learn and adapt at all times. However, I feel that, unlike other artist climbers do not have a legitimate argument to claim anything as their own. First: Climbers although having contributed great effort to the assent did not participate in the creation of their medium (the boulder or cliff). Secondly: to assume that people were the first to climb anything is silly. Example: I was climbing in my buddies’ backyard recently and as I approached the top of a 30+ foot cliff I was passed by a small lizard carrying something in his mouth the size of its upper body. As I struggled, it just cruised on by - uninterested in me. So - just because I bolted said cliff and was the first Human to climb it does in no way mean that animals hadn’t been scaling up and down it for hundreds of years. So maybe I (along with everyone else) should start claiming the FHA’s.

3) Or perhaps, it’s because they feel that putting their name on something solidifies them as something more than the casual weekend warrior. More in what way? Maybe they need validation or something semi-tangible that they can point to and say “I did that first!” Possibly they see it as another way of proving to themselves how much better they are then perhaps someone who can’t climb their route or walked by it for years without seeing said line. Ultimately I think that that comes down to the individual. However, I feel it necessary to say that the pursuit of anything simply to flex ones ego might be the saddest way of all to spend waking hours.

So, if you are one of the people who tries to hide your project because it is “yours”, or if you choose to clean all your chalk off the holds when you’re done trying to keep the line a secret instead of being environmentally responsible – It is time to GET OVER YOURSELF! You are a climber. And even if you are the very best climber to ever live – you will still be someone who’s greatest achievements came through a completely selfish pursuit of your own indulgence.

With that being said… I’m psyched about the cold weather and high friction…so today and tomorrow I will spend my time on projects…fulfilling my lenience…I welcome anyone to join me and I would be very happy to see you crush all the new lines I’ve spotted.