But it has become incredibly clear to me that the real world of rock climbing is out-of-doors,

Be careful, say that in a gym and you will have a mob of gym rats running you down.

sport climbing 1-2x a week.

You're probably on the wrong forum. Try cascadeclimbers.com.

and be very leary of message boards and or climbing with people whom you don't know. I have met seemingly friendly people who I climbed with and when they left they steal things. This is proabably why I mostly boulder now. I have even had shoes stolen while I went to the restroom. Rangers steel fixed ropes too. Well some rangers anyway.

Pm me if you want to get on my friends list. I'd be extactic to have serious climbing partners.

.My question for all of you, those of you who have gone through this transition and are now skillful climbers -- how did you start to get serious, and what were some of your first goals? How have you gone about finding good partners that can really help challenge and push you?

MM,
Good to hear you made the jump. One thing that real dirtbag climbers have are life skills. Spend a few years of your life roadtripping, and you not only know you can survive with little, you can actually enjoy it. Justin

Are you not making observations about the world around you? Clearly if you haven't learned anything from being on the road, than your mindset is all wrong. You have to be a student first to learn. And I don't appreciate the term "beggar", as I work for my money buddy.

What have I learned you might say?

1) Most material things around us hold not any value in life more than we attach to them, and more truly the greatest assets to your life, and upon reflection when you are old, will be people and experiences. All the junk we fill our homes with to make life "easier" ends up being a bigger burden in the long run...and likely stifles our internal growth (if we so desire).

2) The greatest asset you truly have is your own heart and mind. Those are the only fires that will be there to help you through hard times (as well as perhaps people as denoted in #1). When these two are aligned great things in life can happen.

3) Everything is temporary. As much as you think the world is static around you it is not, and all things, from your own reflection to the people that surround you to your lovely little home will all erode with enough time and back to particles we all go..

4) If you can't spend time with your own self each day, than you may just miss out on a greater relationship to life. Stop surrounding yourself with incessant people and entertainment devices, tv, ect, and for a moment simply BE and learn to cultivate a strong inner voice (that perhaps is our greatest life compass).

5) You never know who you are going to meet and how they are going to effect your lives. Choose who you bring into your life wisely.

6) Compassion and understanding is probably the greatest remedy to having good relationships not only with your own self but to those you care about the most.

7) You are not your job or your checking account or your awards. Stick you in some place new and nobody will care about your reputation and will simply judge you for what you are capable of in that very moment.

8) Being kind to people or genuine is probably one of the greater things you can do to spread some goodness in the world. We may never be able to address all of these large global problems individually, but being a good person is definitely a first and major step towards healthy community....and will also catalyze #5...ie, you never know who might extend an opportunity to you simply by being genuine and kind in even the most trivial of encounters.

9) You will one day be dead and senility may or may not come before it. Never stop yourself from a new life experience because of fear or doubt...you have your strengths...you are capable...

10) In the last 100 years we humans have changed this continent and planet immeasurably...don't believe me? Take some time to drive around this country and look around you...the pavement never ends...there are more and more buildings and housing where there was once forest or unimpeded land...we are in for a real wakeup call...the society of ours that acts as if everything was infinite and disposable and that life or people aren't sometimes delicate or fragile in certain ways...

11) Most of the business of the world holds very little real meaning. A great deal of it is economic hub-bub, money to be made to be spent to be made to consume more goods and round we go again...and most people are struggling for it (myself included) to simply survive...and truly, in the scheme of things, its only as good as what it provides to you (for some it is family security and warmth), it is not the end all nor the absolute...in fact its just an intermediate to the really good things...but we humans just entrance ourselves with it along with television and popular media when the beauty of life is outside of these things...

This is just a sampling of what has gone through my mind in the last year. I've got more to share. These lessons can be learned other ways too. But sometimes there is value in giving up the world you have known and to experience something outside of that -- and man the things we appreciate for doing so....I would be perhaps 1/2 as strong as I am right now if I didn't decide to embark on an alternative way of life...


may all journey well:)

Did you get tired after searching facebook at your workplace? Do you have nothing better to do than smear negativity onto someone trying to learn to be a better climber? Have you contributed anything to the purpose of this thread?

Please go express your ego elsewhere man.

...
I burn a certain amount of fossil fuels yes, and this is a conflict of my own interest. I do not however own a home or any of the following appliances: microwave, television, refrigerator, toaster, toaster oven, dish washer, oven, washing machine, drying machine, grill. The list could go on. In some ways, I feel my lifestyle is offset by the lack of such things, including the coal-based energy to supply such things. And I make full use of my fossil fuel use (gasoline) by charging all of my personal electronics.

And if it helps me to become more aware, and to meet and effect more people, than I see value in it.

And you can rest assured as I reach a point in my life where I have access to purchasing an all-electric vehicle, I will. All we can do is take life and work with it slowly sometimes the very best we can.

Did you get tired after searching facebook at your workplace? Do you have nothing better to do than smear negativity onto someone trying to learn to be a better climber? Have you contributed anything to the purpose of this thread?

Please go express your ego elsewhere man.

I enjoy traveling and experiencing new things. I work in outdoor education and as a result live a mobile lifestyle. I work to teach people about nature and how to become more aware -- primarily children who will be inheriting a different world than myself.

I never labeled myself as a dirtbag. This is a phrase you are attached to, clearly because of certain negative experiences, thus causing you to categorize all people living on the road into such a category.

I burn a certain amount of fossil fuels yes, and this is a conflict of my own interest. I do not however own a home or any of the following appliances: microwave, television, refrigerator, toaster, toaster oven, dish washer, oven, washing machine, drying machine, grill. The list could go on. In some ways, I feel my lifestyle is offset by the lack of such things, including the coal-based energy to supply such things. And I make full use of my fossil fuel use (gasoline) by charging all of my personal electronics.

And if it helps me to become more aware, and to meet and effect more people, than I see value in it. And you can rest assured as I reach a point in my life where I have access to purchasing an all-electric vehicle, I will. All we can do is take life and work with it slowly sometimes the very best we can.

And these things in my life I've learned from my own experiences. Take whatever path you'd like to find whatever wisdom you are looking for.

Hey and Toast--aren't you driving a car in your profile pic? What gives man?Did you knock up a woman and marry her for the sake of the kid? Hope you are happy with the life you are creating.

Since he is 9, and despite being tall for his age, the routes at the gym are, on the whole, not set for his size. As a result, some routes, which are easy even for me, are very difficult for him. Yet, he is so smooth. I was impressed watching him reach to the next hold on a climb and he was stemming off of one at below his waist and yet he was smoothly extending his body until he got one finger on the hold. Then he used that one finger to pull himself a little talller and then matched hands on a hold that, for me, absolutely would not have been something I could have matched on. It was a joy just to watch him move. It wasn't something that I wanted to yell out to everyone to come see how good my son is so that y'all can think I'm better as a parent; it was just something glorious to see and I was glad I was there to see it.

And yesterday was a very, very good day. To recap: Hot wife in bikini, some climbing time and a happy time with the kids. Yes, very happy indeed.

You should check this out. It may have been written especially for you...

http://www.southparkstudios.com/...es/s10e02-smug-alert