Climbing Without Ego: Letting Go of Grade Chasing
Grades are one of the biggest dichotomies in climbing. They allow us to track progress, choose the right challenge and allow us to measure ourselves. But they also allow us to fall into a vicious trap of comparison to others, and relentless chasing of the next number. Whether it’s chasing a higher number we’ve yet to climb, or more numbers of a grade we have climbed, the temptation is there to be led down a path of comparison, ego and unhappiness. So how do we dodge this trap, and interact with grades in a way that’s sustainable and motivating?
Motivations
It would be a lie if I said that being motivated by a grade wasn’t an effective source of motivation. Ultimately, there is nothing wrong with being motivated by a hard challenge. But let me give you two scenarios.
Will Bosi climbs Alphane in 2022, and decides that now he’s done a 9A, he will now just move onto the next grade, V18. How sustainable is this approach? How long can you go on just being motivated by the next grade, and if that’s your only motivation, how long will climbing be sustainable for? I would argue not very long.
Will Bosi climbs Alphane in 2022, and decides he wants to push himself on a similar level of challenge, so puts his effort into trying to repeat Burden of Dreams 9A. In doing this, he isn’t chasing another grade, but another challenge that he knows will be suitable for him, given he has just completed a boulder at that grade.
Scenario 1 is an unsustainable model, and scenario 2 (at least with the growing number of 9A’s), is a model in which the grade does not change, but the challenge remains at a level which is enticing and provides room for growth. I mention these scenarios, as the number of times I hear people who have done one 8A say, ‘I want to try an 8B’, or someone who’s done one 7B say they want to climb a 7C. Whilst I have been in this situation myself, I realised that getting to that next grade was not just about trying the next grade, but importantly consolidating the grade I was at. What I also realised was that the reason I was after the higher grade was not just to climb it, but to gain access to the amazing problems that that grade had to offer.
Considering your own motivations I believe is the first way to start to move away from chasing the grade, and to begin to chase the boulders. If I think about boulders I want to do now, yes many of them are at 8C or 8C+, but they are also boulders that I have always aspired to and want to have an experience with. I’m certainly not here to say that X motivation is right, or Y motivation is wrong, but beginning to understand what motivates you in climbing, is a step towards picking challenges that are sustainable for you. This is something we look at in more depth in Mastering Stone (Our complete toolkit for outdoor bouldering online course), so check that out if you want more on motivation.
Ego
Many times our ego affects us adversely in climbing. I see people who are scared to fall off grade 6 boulders, given they usually operate in the 7’s. I see people who perceive they operate in the 8’s, and will not try low 7’s through fear of looking silly if they fall off. This is all the ego holding us back from selecting the correct challenges. So how to do we get away from it? Firstly, try and acknowledge and accept those feelings. We have all been there around a bunch of climbers around our level or above, and don’t want to make fools of ourselves. So what do we do? We tense up, climb defensively and ultimately with not a fraction of the skill we’re capable of. Once we acknowledge these feelings, we can start to reduce them. Remind yourself that anyone can fall off anything! Nobody cares whether you fall off or not, that’s really the reality. Everyone is too wrapped up in their own climbing to focus on yours. Secondly, When you see how badly you’re climbing in those situations, isn’t it just easier to not care and feel better on the wall, even if you fall off? So let yourself fall off easy things. In the past I’ve actually done it on purpose, just to break the ice for myself. Taking that first fall on an easy boulder was enough for me to just let go, and not climb with the pressure. Try it out the next time you’re nervous to fall off.
The big picture however, is to really get to grips with your motivations, and try and pick the right challenges for yourself! That will go a long way to remove the focus on grade. Next look at the ego, and try and disassemble it from the grade you should or shouldn’t climb or try or fall off. Be willing to let go, even in the small situations, to free up your climbing and be able to do it the way you’re capable of!
Let it go,
Eliot