I arrive at the crag pull my rope out of my ultra light
alpine rucksack and throw it on the floor and stare at the ungodly mess it has
got its self into. It was only cheap, 'I should get a new one' I think to myself. Sliding my legs
into the lightest harness I could get for the price I rack up with a selection of
high end sport draws, every click brings me satisfaction and the thought that it wasn’t a total waste
of money. I lace up my downturned super technical climbing shoes and set off for the onsight. Failing to gain much ground I lower down and thumb through my collection of
jackets. Do I go for the windproof, the thin primaloft, the thick primaloft or
the high altitude down jacket. After a short break I start up again thanking
myself for having such a great jacket collection as I’m still warm,
my fingers and muscle are supple and feeling
every slight nuance to the sequence. My eyes only avert from the route to clip
and stare at the beautiful quickdraws I spent so much money on. Fondling the chalk
in preparation for the crux I convince myself that the higher magnesium content
of this premium chalk will help me make it through. I slip and lower off and
head off home to peruse climbing websites, so I can build a spreadsheet that
will tell me which high end rope will help me send the 6c that's been giving me
so much bother. I am an outdoor gear addict and a mediocre climber.
 |
| All the gear no idea |
There was a time many transactions ago when I convinced
myself I was going to be a scrappy gear climber buying only the essential gear, starting off by buying second hand quickdraws off a friend buying the cheapest rope go outdoors
had to offer and hitting the crag in a half filled down jacket bought for
nothing on ebay. Then I went to Scotland got soaked on a VDiff and bought a
half price Arc'teryx Raincoat in Fort William. That's where it all began, I got a
job upon returning to university and this only made things worse I have never
really had that much disposable income and now I had enough to ignite the flames
of my burgeoning addiction. My trad rack started to build up slowly over the
year as did my jacket collection and by the time I left uni my collection had
grown and my addiction had got worse. Luckily I was out of work for a while this
did a good job of quelling my appetite but it only made it return with a
greater vengeance once I started working again. Its now been 2 years since it
all began and I know have more gear than a small outdoor shop.
With This Many Jackets You Can't Help But Smile
It’s got to the stage where all my climbing gear out
performs me by many many grades. But does that matter? You can be a great climber
and not care about what you climb with as long as it does its job , or you can be
a terrible climber who by racking up with all the high end toys climbs better
because psychologically he feels it gives him an advantage. Wanting nice things
is part of been a human its why we developed capitalism. Over winter I enjoyed falling onto my big comfy crash pad and having a massive down jacket to put on,
did it make me climb better probably not but it made it more enjoyable. At the
end of the day having Adam Ondras signature shoe will not make you climb like Adam Ondra but hey they are nice shoes and if you’ve worked hard to buy some
why not buy some. You don’t need a 9.2mm rope to onsight 6c but if you get
enjoyment out of buying it feeling it and climbing with it great you do you.
Its all down to how you want to spend your hard earned money and I for one am grateful to be able to spend it on things I want.
Was this entire blog made to justify me buying a high end
9.2mm climbing rope? Maybe I’ll just check the spreadsheet.
