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Two Loves

• March 2010
• Hi Steph Simple Living Climb Dogs Training

Hey,
first of all I think that it is great you have a site where people can ask you questions and you actually respond and are up to date. It makes me feel better that I get on the computer..
Anyway, I am 20 and from Lincoln, NE…..FLATTTTTTTLANDSS :)We have a wall at the Rec Center at the University. I started climbing last May and I am getting to the point where I can onsight 10s (top-rope), but I love to run also and I am training to run a half-marathon in this coming May. I feel like I am betraying my climber self, do you ever feel that way and is it okay that I am taking a step back from climbing (I hate typing that)? Also, I love lead climbing, but somewhere in the middle I got scared and I am afraid to fall. I have fallen, but only 5 ft about a draw and I just wish I could push my scaredy-cat side away, UGHH.
P.S. What kind of dogs do you have? I have really been wanting to get a dog lately.
Thanks-You are Awesome,
Emily Kilmer

Dear Emily,
Thanks for writing to me! I used to have a heeler mix named Fletcher. She came from the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. She was the best, most beautiful, most perfect dog in the world, and unfortunately she is gone now. I do also have a very good dog friend, who is a heeler mix, named Slack. He is the second most beautiful perfect dog on the planet, and luckily I get to hang out with him a lot. Oddly, I now have a little cat who decided to move in last summer. Unfortunately, he is not the best camper so far. Anyway, I love heeler mix dogs, and I also love res dogs. We seem to understand each other very well. I am hoping I meet the right one again someday, because I sure do miss Fletch, every day….

Anyway, it can definitely be hard to juggle climbing with other activities. Even within climbing, for a lot of years I had to grapple pretty hard with the different fitness styles between summer expeditions in the mountains, and free climbing the rest of the year. Carrying big packs, and doing new routes on big walls is a pretty different skill and fitness set than sport climbing at your limit, and it is really not easy to excel at both, seamlessly. The thing was, I loved mountain adventures as much as I loved free climbing at the crags, so I wasn’t going to stop doing either one. I had to learn pretty early on how to transition as efficiently as possible, and how to train specifically for my upcoming plans. This makes a big difference. It’s pretty easy to plan ahead, for the next 3-6 months, and really think about what you want to be doing, and how best to get there.

The other side of the coin is having a second passion that is a completely different activity from climbing, in any of its styles. I have always had this too, first with trail running, and then also with skate skiing, and now with base jumping and skydiving. It can be really hard to stay on top of your game in multiple pursuits, and switching gears is tough! It used to be really hard for me mentally, when I switched back to climbing after time spent doing something else to a high level, and felt like I was almost starting over….! I have found that after many years, your base level slowly increases, and it takes only a short time to get back to the level you were at before your break. Remember, though, the reason climbing is great. Not because you have to achieve something or win something, or any of that false illusion of attainment. It’s great because it feels good to use your body, to solve problems, to be outside, and to challenge yourself. You can do all those things in whatever state of fitness you find yourself in, so don’t be swept away by the quantifying aspect that climbing unfortunately falls prey to, on its surface level.

Another thing to keep in mind is that most athletic or artistic endeavours are quite similar in many ways, at their heart. If you spend a little time thinking about the demands of running compared to the demands of climbing, you will see that they do complement each other in many ways. The most important thing is to embrace what you are doing, when you are doing it, rather than wasting mental energy thinking about what else you might be doing….if you know what I mean 🙂 For myself, when I was doing lots and lots of distance trail running, I found that physically it did nothing for my extreme free climbing ability (and in fact, often hurt it), but it gave me tons of endurance and stamina, as well as the ability to be mentally tough and tolerate pain, for goals like freeing El Cap in a day, which was hugely inspiring for me as a climber.

Now, with base jumping, I find many ways in which jumping and climbing are meshed, and ways in which their different demands complement each other.

Just remember, climbing is a wonderful thing, and running is too. Hanging out with your dog on a desert cliff is a good thing too! There are so many wonderful things in this life that one can experience. Don’t be afraid to embrace whatever it is that inspires you. The only mistake you can make is doing something halfway, or letting opportunities slip by you. Every time you are fortunate enough to be doing something you love to do, remember it’s the best moment of your life….
🙂 xxSteph