Wake Up, Eat Food, Go Climb

Tracter Girl 5.13a Riggins ID
Photo: Dylan Vaughn Schweig

Today, I was asked a question and it stirred up an idea for this blog…. So here we are… “Sam, what is it like to be in a world that’s 100% about climbing, committing, and competition?” Well let me try and explain it to you in words that will help you imagine the world as I see it. Some folk’s say I’m crazy and obsessed with climbing, and I can tell you they are right. Climbing runs my life and I’m just in the passenger seat, going for a ride wherever it takes me. I sacrifice so many things in my life so I can commit to my life style, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I give up money, jobs, a house, and relationships all for the sake of my life. Guess what? It’s all worth it for the feeling it brings me. The energy, excitement, and happiness is why I do it, well, and of course the friends that become family to me. As simple as life can be for the dirt bag there are times, times when folks are unfamiliar with this life style where they may not understand, that this life without the house, without the money and the relationships is far from simple. The simplest thing can be the most stressful, confusing, and just plain frustrating. I talked about rest days being important in the past, but today I’m going to talk about the mental toll rest days have on me as focused and consumed climber. For me, my bubbly and often times annoying, excited personality comes from and is built up solely from climbing. So when I’m not climbing, I just don’t know what to do. Truly everything else sounds so boring. My attention span when it comes to a non-physical activity is quite short, some folks feel the need to diagnose me with ADD, and I’m sorry but that’s just a crock of shit. My imagination is a physical expression, one that isn’t stimulated by just a book, some coffee shop chitchat, and a walk. I MUST USE EVERY MUSCLE….To feel  accomplishment for the day. As I throw the stick for my dog I see similarities, or maybe I’m just full of shit, who knows, maybe I’m just a horrible writer and bad with words. The excitement he gets from something so simple is the same excitement I get from climbing. Climbing is something so simple and silly, still some people think its pointless and a waste of a good life. Why? Because I have no job, very little money, and really no vision of the future. But let’s get back to the similarities of my dog chasing something so silly and repetitive as a stick, when it comes to Cypress chasing the stick over and over again? He’s happy, some say he was bred for it…It’s in his blood. Well climbing? It makes me happy and when it really comes down to it? The demand, excitement, success, problem solving, and yes, even failure is what makes me so excited. It allows me to be me without being shunned from the outside world.