It's raining here, so I'm lab-bound and gym-bound for a while. Add this to the many hours of darkness every day and you get a more angst-y version of me. Scary thought, no?
I was talking with my friend James today about trying hard. Six years ago today he fell while free-soloing in Joshua Tree.
James climbs a lot. He aspires to do things that are very hard for him, and he gets them done. James isn't the most physically talented rock climber (most of us aren't talented - it's rare to be truly talented I think, so I don't feel like this is insulting), but he still accomplishes very impressive goals. I'm a lot more impressed with people like James who face great odds (he's put together with pins now!) and accomplish goals than I am with people who find things easy. Stubbornness levels the playing field: James has climbed more hard shit than most people who are naturally talented. He has more tenacity than anybody I've ever met.
James is inspiring to me. I'm not a talented rock climber by any stretch of the imagination. I actually have to try, and I definitely get scared, and bored, and give up on things. If I don't pay attention, I put on weight, I get weak, and I have to work hard. At this point, I'm less interested in what I could do if I were actually talented, and more interested in what I could accomplish if I were more like James. James is rad.
That said, I have worked hard this fall. After 2 days on a route called Cell Block, I think I could send it within a few tries. This route felt completely impossible to me a few years ago.
I feel stronger than I've ever been before, and more mellow about climbing in general. I'm hoping to send some stuff before the balance shifts more towards suck, as it inevitably will. And I hope it stops raining!!!
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