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Staying in Touch

• January 2013
• Hi Steph Simple Living Climb

Hi Steph!

First off, I’m a huge fan of the the thought provoking way that you view and write about climbing. Its incredibly inspiring!

Currently I am a masters student studying conservation at Oxford. likewise, I find the program thought provoking and inspiring, and I’m incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to be here. That being said, the program requires a huge time commitment, and there isn’t much climbing available in this part of the UK, so my climbing prospects for the year look pretty grim. I know from your enormocast interview that there was a time when you had to leave the wonders of Colorado and return to Maryland to finish your degree. So, my question is, when you were removed from climbing in that way, how did you stay connected to climbing and the emotions, thoughts and mindsets that it elicits?

Sorry for the slightly odd question, but if you have the time I would love your insights, thanks!!
Max
ps. Super stoked for your new book!!!

Hi Max,
Your program sounds really interesting, congratulations! And great to hear that the Enormocast has listeners in the UK.
It was a rough moment when my exchange year was finished at Fort Collins, Colorado and I had to go back to the University of Maryland to finish my undergrad degree. It wasn’t only the climbing and the beauty of Colorado, but it was a completely different lifestyle as Fort Collins at the time was a small town environment with a smaller student population, and University of Maryland was a huge campus with a commuter, urban feel. I had spent my sophomore year on exchange at Fort Collins, and I was on a scholarship at University of Maryland. So there was no way to stay at CSU for my junior and senior years, as it would have been financially totally out of the question. My solution was to overload on courses and credits, and I completed my junior and senior years at U of Md in 2 semesters. As a result, I was really only back in Maryland for 9 months rather than 2 years, and it made it much easier to wrap my head around. When I applied for a master’s program at CSU, they accepted me, and so I also knew I’d be going right back there at the end of the 9 months.

Also, one of the first big gyms in the east coast at that time had just opened, Clipper City Rock Gym in Baltimore (which later tragically burned right before a competition). So I got a job at the gym, and that kept me climbing and around climbers, which helped a lot.

So what worked for me was to figure out how to make my time back east shorter and with a clear end in sight, and also to try to make sure I got involved with climbers as much as possible to feel more “normal” until I could get back to a place where I really did feel normal. Sometimes you have to make tradeoffs for a time, as you know, but I think what is most important is to be sure that the tradeoffs are clear in both the pluses and minuses for you, and that they have a timeline.

Good luck! Steph