Climbing: From 5.9 to 5.11

When the sport of climbing was young, the Yosemite Decimal System was formed - a way to grade routes for difficulty and also give a way for the various climbers to rank themselves amongst each other. Originally, the system only went at high as 5.10, which was considered the pinnacle of human success a the time - with the invention of better gear and technique, the climbs have been extended to route all the way up to the insane 5.15s.

Recently, I've been climbing 5.10's.

Beginners to the sport see the 5.7s and sometimes have a hard time getting beyond that - "You want me to hang freely and scramble up fifty feet? Insane!" 5.7s are the basics of rock climbing- large handholds and big rests that allow your arms to get over what you just put them through.

That was me a year ago, when I got back into climbing - a novice at best and a bumbling gumby, flailing all over the routes. It seemed so easy, long ago, when I was younger - old bones and the sedentary life of the desk jockey atrophied my skills and led me down a path of complacency in physical fitness. Besides doing Seattle Night and Day, I decided (for various reasons) to make climbing a major part of my life - as much as my development in software, at least.

I'm not a fan of heights and definitely not a fan of trusting people I've just met - that made belaying hard and a few early falls led me to another climbing-related sport: bouldering.

Bouldering can be summed up in these few words: no rope and twenty-foot drops. Essentially, you're going to climb up this route without the safety of a rope and, should you make it high enough, you'll have a large drop from the top if you can't make the last move. It was, in short, awesome.

I started doing the regular routes and trying half of them - the first thing I conquered was my fear of heights. As I moved up in rank of route, I discovered that my trust of others depended on my fear of heights. With that gone, I found that I could do whatever route I was physically capible of doing - and that was a lot more than I thought. My body was sore, but I had just finished that V4!

Then, as the positive thoughts resonated through me, I discovered that they fueled me - the more positive thoughts I had, the better my climbing ability. This is when I discovered books like The Rock Warrior's Way and other mental training books. My mind, the greatest tool I've had during my entire life on this ball of dirt, was also my greatest hinderance!

Overcoming that is an ongoing story, one which I will chronicle here and finish after I've moved on from this life.

However, in the here and now, my climbing continues. I've recently returned to sport climbing and discovered my abilities enhanced - my first day back on roped climbing, I was comfortable with doing most roped climbs with a ride variety of belayers - and that my range of skill had increased. I'm no longer content to do a simple 5.8 or most 5.9s, instead I push myself to move to higher and higher grades, no matter the muscle aches and the self-doubt - becauase I know I can do it.

And those holds that are just beyond my reach? Those that I can't get to immediately or will never get to without a dangerous move?

I jump. I jump hard.