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Risk and Preparation

• February 2015
• Hi Steph Climb Dogs

Hi Steph,
I thought I should write to you only if I have something specific to ask, because everything else will sound selfish and a waste of your time, but maybe not.
However this sounds I have read your books, followed your climbs and your blog. I enjoy the way you think and live.
You already know you are an inspiration for many.
When I read your books or watch your interviews – you will understand that, because you read a lot yourself – it’s like having a favourite author because everything he/she says and the way he/she says it is exactly how you feel things.
I see things and feel things exactly the way you describe them.
No, I do not compare myself with you – you are amazing climber and BASE jumper and world class athlete…and many other thing I do not know.
Well, be informed, when I’m down I either run outside and look for something pretty to look at or open your blog and find something true and inspirational that helps me feel better.

I think that a person can climb up a tree and have a similar desicion making and risk taking as in any other extreme sport.
Haha, tree climbing included in the extreme sports, finally.
It doesn’t have to be big to make you happy. At least for me it doesn’t.
Sometimes I feel good looking at a rock and knowing that it’s never been climbed, enjoying it for a while and walking away.
I realised that we are CONSUMING the environment by wanting to reach the top of everything and climb every rock we see when I heard a friend last year say “I cannot imagine being surrounded by so many rocks and not climbing them” – I was sick that day so we couldn’t climb. But i live in that area in the summer and I realized how comfortable I was just watching the rocks being magnificent.
I have no idea why I write exactly about that to you. I am not making any point – like accusing you of being of a consumer or whatever.

Anyway, I knew that if I start writing a question I want to ask you would come?

Being prepared, having things planned and under control is very important for you. How do you feel about that?
Is it in your nature to start with? Did the nature of the extreme sports you have been practicing your whole life teach you that?
Do you think that if you are not always 100% prepared something will go wrong and you have done nothing to prevent it?
Is it hard for you to do something if you are not fully ready for it?

Me? Yes–climbing, height and exposure, books, dogs, nature, beauty, taking risks and being brave make me happy.

Attaching a pucture of my dogs: Ella (Eia) – the mother, and Zapetaika (means “a comma” in Bulgarian) – the daughter.
My favourite two would-be-people-in-our-next-life (or better off lemon trees) living someones.

Wishing you all the best and remaining your follower and hopefully not an intruder,
Natali

Hi Natali,
Thank you for writing to me, and for sending a picture of your dogs. They are very pretty!

You’re right, it’s crucial to me to feel prepared to do things that have consequences. My reasons for this have changed over time. First, it’s the only way for me to do things that intimidate me. The “just go for it” approach is typically the worst thing I can do if I’m trying to do something that’s really hard and scary. Fear is about the unknown, so if we can reduce the amount of unknowns, things become less scary. In terms of climbing and exposure, becoming better prepared, and understanding how your preparation is directly related to what you’re hoping to do, is the best way to reduce the questions in your mind and also reduce your fear.

But this is all on the very personal, “me” level. Like I said, my feelings about preparation and risk have changed over time, and the concept of respect is equally important to me, if not more, than being prepared so I personally can do something difficult or risky. I believe that nature, gravity, high places and our community deserve our respect. Taking on a high risk challenge without being appropriately prepared is disrespectful, of all those things, in my mind. Even if it works out, I feel that’s not the right way. If we take on risk with respect and things don’t work out, it’s an outcome that is acceptable, because that’s the natural way of life.

I think that if I try to do something without adequate preparation, I’m asking a lot from luck. We don’t get to choose how much luck we have, or what kind, so I try not to expect too much from it and hope that when I need it, I might get some. I’ve been climbing for 24 years now, which is more than half my life, so my thoughts and ideas have been almost completely shaped by my experiences in the rocks and mountains. One of my bad qualities is an inability to pour my energy into things that don’t inspire me, and that’s why I’ve lived the life I’ve lived. Our world is so unnatural now, in so many ways, and that’s why so many of us struggle with our simple desires to be outside and be with nature versus “normal life” in which people sit in different types of chairs all day inside various enclosures made of plastics and try to make sure nothing unusual happens. We have big brains, but we are creatures. Living outside is normal, living among plants and animals is normal, living in high places is normal. Being ruled by the laws of nature: weather, day and night, gravity, the elements, the unexpected and the unfair is also normal. That’s what I think 🙂

I appreciate your thoughts about consumerism and nature. I have a similar feeling, about what I call “the firstest, the fastest and the mostest.” This seems to be a very common way that we approach our activities in the outdoors–always looking to be the firstest, fastest or mostest. This is of top importance to many people–especially if you look at the media. A climber has only to watch a lizard, to realize how ridiculous this idea is, or a wingsuit pilot to see a bird fly. Humans will never be the best at any physical pursuit we do. The other creatures are always firster, faster or moster outside. It’s best for us to enjoy it all and try as hard as we can to fit into the natural world without making too much trouble.
Steph