Go World

I may not be well versed in the ways of the world, but I feel like there is a lot left to be desired with the current state of our earth. More peace, more love, less greed, hunger and selfishness. Less perpetual hustle, more contentment. More community, less division. Climbing, like many other sports, has the ability to bring people together. Climbing represents what is right with the world. Love, passion, community, respect for the environment and for each other, appreciating the small things, and living in harmony with one another.

My alarm sang to me in five-minute intervals this morning, and eventually I heeded its call and rubbed the sleep from my eyes and rolled slowly out of bed. My bowl of store brand Apple Cinnamon Cheerio knockoffs brought me back to life and I started to think about the day. I grabbed the dogs' harnesses, which sent them into an excited frenzy, as they knew we were about to get into the car and go climbing. I maneuvered through the road construction that has been plaguing the roads to my climbing destinations lately and scanning the side of the roadway, I saw my new friend Maciek sitting on the curb of 267. I pulled onto a side street and motioned for him to jump in the car. As he opened the passenger door, the dog’s tails thumped excitedly against the seat backs as they crowded on either side of the new visitor trying to lick his face.

I met Maciek a few days ago while working at the climbing gym. He is from Poland and is doing a work/travel program here. He explained to me that the program required him to accept the first job he was offered which landed him at Northstar selling Gelato. Before today, we had talked for about ten minutes and I invited him to come out climbing with me some time. He was off work today, and I didn't have to be in until 4, so we decided to head to Big Chief for some sport climbing.

Conversation flowed easily on the drive to Truckee. We talked about climbing mostly and found out we are studying essentially the same thing, although he is a masters student. We bumped down the dirt road and into the parking pull out at Big Chief and started the approach. It was just as huffy and puffy as usual at the final hill; living at 6000 feet for a month hasn't seemed to improve my ability to hike up steep inclines much. We decided to hop on an ultra classic 5.9 to warm up.

Our pre-climb conversation: 
M: "What is this called?" 
L: "Quickdraw" 
M: "What do you say when you want to bring the rope to the quickdraw?" 
L: "Clip" 
M: "What do you say when you're like ah, ah, shaking, and going to fall?" 
L: "Falling or take!" 
M: "Ok, I'm going to climb now"

And just like that, he was off. Only in climbing is it completely normal to entrust your life to someone you've known for an hour without hesitating. Climbing is a universal language. We may not all speak the same native tongue, but we understand each other on a deep level. Sometimes there are language gaps, such as me trying to explain to Maciek what ‘bummer’ meant. My friend Danny had a similar experience climbing with a German couple a few weeks ago. He was describing a climb saying, "it's pretty hard." Confused, the Germans asked, "What is this pretty? The climb is beautiful hard?" Then there is the constant struggle to convert grades, 6a? 6c+?

As their trip came to an end, that German couple had sold their van to a newly arrived German couple, Tobias and Adrianna. Danny provided the link as he took the van from the departing couple and delivered it to the arriving one. Tobias and Adrianna followed him up to Tahoe last weekend where we all met up and climbed together. It was wonderful talking with Tobias about the climbing in Turkey, where he has been living and bolting routes. He got on Warp Factor, a 5.13, and almost flashed it. After working through the crux moves, he determined that the correct beta was to “just squeeze that shit,” and that he did, sending the route on his third go. As he and Adrianna departed for the next leg of their road trip, he let us know that if we ever came to Turkey to climb, we would have a place to stay.

It is wonderful to see the web that develops between climbers. All my climbing partners from each different area of my life- my hometown, my school, my new friends in Tahoe- are all meeting each other, and as I meet their climbing partners from different areas of their lives, the connections grow. The climbing community is so tight knit that someone always knows someone wherever you go. The network of climbers throughout the world is amazing and hospitality is one of the key aspects of this group. Climbers are quick to offer lodging to each other and a tour of their local crag.

One of the coolest experiences I have had was climbing in Tonsai, Thailand. Tonsai is a peninsula that is accessible only by boat and it is literally a colony of climbers. Every single person on that peninsula climbs and every nation was represented there. In the morning, climbers would emerge from their bungalows and make their way along the dirt pathways to breakfast. Along the way, climbers would shout to each other, “Did you send your project yesterday?” “Does anyone need a climbing partner today?” I met people from Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, Canada. Everyone was there because they loved climbing, and this wonderfully positive vibe drifted over the sandy beaches, through the palm trees and up the limestone cliffs. The climbing community is international. It is here and now and hopefully it always will be in the future if we play our cards right.

As the temperature crept up towards 90, Maciek and I hiked back through the forest on a beautiful trailed lined with wildflowers and pine trees. Maciek was squeezing his hands open and closed and looking at his forearms. "I get this funny feeling after climbing," he said. I looked at him and thought he was going to say something about being pumped or his hands tingling. "I want to drink beer," he finished.

Yup, climbers all speak the same language.

As we made our way back down the dirt road, Maciek and I discussed music, and I realized how much climbers have in common and yet how much individuality each one brings to the scene. Maciek and I enjoy the same music, wear the same brand of climbing shoes and harness, study the same thing in school, and we both love ice cream. We were born 5800 miles apart, speaking different languages, living in different worlds. He grew up climbing concrete trenches left over from war, while I grew up pulling on plastic in a gym. Yet here we are, huge smiles on our faces, climbing rocks together. Before I left the ground for a climb, Maciek reached out his fist, and I pounded it. “What is this called?” he asked me. “Fist bump,” I replied. “Fist bump,” he repeated and smiled.

So let’s go world. Let’s drop the egos and hardened exterior and meet our fellow human being. Let’s extend that fist bump to each other in a display of encouragement and unity. Let’s remember that we are all connected, we are all finite, and that the most important thing we have is each other.