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R.B.
Trad climber
47N 122W
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Dec 13, 2012 - 11:44pm PT
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Being a climbing bum (or lack thereof) cost me my first and only marriage (even after having a kid)
I know I climbed best in my late 2o's to early 30's. It physically doesn't get much better than that age bracket.
But emotionally and psychologically, some of the most focused climbing I've done is in my mid 30's to early 40's.
From there it's a matter of lifestyle. Do you want to continue down a path of being a climbing bum, or do you want to have the ability to set your own financial path to sustainability (read as get paid by the past hard work you sacrificed climbing to work a job to save for the free time of your second coming adolescence?)
Do it while you are young ... no rush to get married, job, kids, house & mortgage, GO FOR IT!
PS - I always have said that if I didn't have a kid, I would have died years ago (because I was freesoloing some pretty crazy sh*t BITD.)
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Dec 14, 2012 - 12:03am PT
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I think it is reasonable to hold a steady job and have regular relationships while getting the most out of climbing.
Seasonal jobs, contracting, whatever, good to have. That's the real trick, is to not have anything get too much in the way.
If climbing is your passion and your job/wife/property is keeping you from your dreams, DUH! Straighten out and make it work, but that isn't a freebie to become a derelict ;D
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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Dec 14, 2012 - 12:28am PT
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All dirtbagging is not the same. Living cheap on the road with a focus for an activity is different than just burning up time and figuring out the next move.
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tom Carter
Social climber
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Dec 14, 2012 - 01:07am PT
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Take whatever time you need to really break free. My advice is don't pin a limit on it. " As White used to say, "Cut loose or Die"!
Following a passion has its rewards and pitfalls - each of value.
Jones and Hudon on the loose... I say show them how its done!!!
Good luck to all!
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Salamanizer
Trad climber
The land of Fruits & Nuts!
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Dec 14, 2012 - 01:44am PT
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Don't ever work harder than you have too.
That being said, there's something to be said about climbing as hard as you can for a few days, then going home to "your" house taking a shower and climbing into "your" comfy bed next to "your" love.
Life is the adventure. Pick your priorities and don't let them be clouded by delusions of grandeur.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Dec 14, 2012 - 03:39am PT
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Couch: Ya get sick of the mountains ya head to the med and lay on a warm sunny beach till you're sick of that.
I'm told the plan is still Barcelona or Valencia. Have to get the house in shape, sort out the work EU work scene, and some odds and ends. No set schedule yet as, despite coming from the most nomadic tribe in the PNW, she's still trying to get her head around not having a home for a couple of years.
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Bob D'A
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Dec 14, 2012 - 10:12am PT
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No was a dirt bag climber, married at 21 and still married to same woman and three wonderful children they always came first. I still managed to do a sh#t load of climbing and almost 1,800 FA's.
Lately I would never waste a vacation on climbing...much rather indulge myself in the country that I'm visiting.
The best times I ever have in my life were with my wife, children and dogs. Climbing comes in second.
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Reeotch
Trad climber
4 Corners Area
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Dec 14, 2012 - 10:45am PT
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The best times I ever have in my life were with my wife, children and dogs. Climbing comes in second.
Wow, now for me, it was a different story. The best times of my life were definitely when I was climbing the most.
I feel lucky in many ways. I avoided full-time work, a wife and kids, so I could live my dreams. I did what I wanted to do most. I always felt a little sorry for those friends of mine who married early, got sucked in to a mortgage, family obligations. They turned physically soft, mentally numbed. I wanted no part of that.
I did my hardest climbing in my late 30s and early 40s. The only reason I'm not climbing that much right now (at 49) is because of my job, and the need to pay some debts.
I'm definitely happy with the choices I made in my life that allowed me to get out and climb more. I've accumulated experiences that are unique, powerful, deeply empowering and moving, and way beyond the reach of your average working stiff. I traded the ordinary for the extraordinary, and it was well worth it!
No wife, no kids, meh . . . I have an awesome woman by my side, and I've sort of adopted her kids. Probably better that my own genes end with me. Besides, my brother has a son who will carry on the Ludwig family name.
I'm with Mr. Hudon on this one, " . . . so fast it would make your head spin . . ."
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micronut
Trad climber
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Dec 14, 2012 - 11:19am PT
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Riley,
We homeschool our kids and its wonderful, but a big responsibility. Its awesome to tend after their hearts while the world competes for their senses. We eat most meals together and they're pretty much unplugged form internet, etc....my daughter is in high school and has no Facebook account. By choice. We don't hide the world from them, they just seem to grow up not craving all the junk as much.
If you can find a way to do it, and not neglect their readin ritin' and rithmatic, go for it. The time together will forever be imprinted on their hearts.
I've shown this Video a good bit around the Taco. You've probably seen it. If not, it shows why we homeschool. This was mid week when her friends were doin the "school" thing.
https://vimeo.com/31711080
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/My-Finest-Trip-Report-Three-Days-Some-Cables-and-a-Dome-with-my-Kid/t11250n.html
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 14, 2012 - 11:24am PT
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I have definitely lived "the casual" life.
My motto has always been "work is not the point". When I was a carpenter in Tahoe I climbed all the time but every other weekend I took Friday off and spent a three day weekend climbing somewhere. Peggy and I started the Coffee Co., (we moved to Hood River for the windsurfing) when we moved to Hood River in '89. There wasn't enough work to occupy five days after a little while so we had thee day weekends. We did that for a few years, got bigger, hired some employees and realized that we really like the four day work week. I'm at the office right now but in the last 20 years, I've worked very few Fridays (and I don't work 8 hours a days on the other 4 days either).
I don't make tons of money but Peggy and I have been smart and lucky, we own the Coffee Co. building, the Coffee Co. an acre lot near town and our house. I'm not rich, but I spent 6 weeks in Yosemite this year and plan 4 to 6 next year. Peggy just got back from Honduras and we're taking a family vacation to Utah at the end of the month.
As far as "dirt bag" goes, well, it doesn't bother me a bit to sleep in the dirt in Camp 4. I love that place, it is what it is. But, I also like to come home, take a shower and sleep in a bed.
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 14, 2012 - 11:25am PT
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BTW, you can take if from me, Micronut has some wonderful kids. If they are the future, then our future is truly bright.
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Bob D'A
Trad climber
Taos, NM
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Dec 14, 2012 - 11:44am PT
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Sounds like a very balanced life Mark. I been out of country four times in the last year (also to Honduras) and value my days off and vacation time. I have been lucky to live close to very good climbing, mountain biking, fly fishing and hiking areas.
Riley...glad you likes the books and thanks for the kind words.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Dec 14, 2012 - 11:46am PT
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I moved to whistler when I was 19 so I could snowboard every day. I'm 35 now and my only regret is that I have to work in the summer so I can be a ski bum in the winter! I would love to dirtbag it! It would be much easier than being a ski bum!
:)
Mark sounds like you got it dialed man, congrats.
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Maysho
climber
Soda Springs, CA
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Dec 14, 2012 - 05:36pm PT
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I saw this today on the bathroom wall at Mammoth Mountaineering...
From Edward Abbey, Words to live by!
“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast....a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.”
― Edward Abbey
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Dec 14, 2012 - 06:15pm PT
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I wish I'd 'a said that (the Edward Abbey quote)! Come to think of it, I'd wished I'd taken to heart "a penny saved is a penny earned" beginning when I was about 6! Alas! The one constant for me since I've been 14 has been climbing (being called dense might come in second). There have been several hiatuses in my life, but I always come back to it. I feel like a Frisbee dog and climbing is well, um, like the Frisbee I guess. I can't help but think that my best climbing days are ahead of me. I look forward to all of the adventures and comeraderie of my climbing partners and camp mates.
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Reeotch
Trad climber
4 Corners Area
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Dec 16, 2012 - 08:24am PT
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That's the best Abbey quote ever . . .
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east side underground
climber
Hilton crk,ca
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Dec 16, 2012 - 10:23am PT
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Spent most of my youth ( married at Thirty-seven) as a "dirt -bag". Mine was more of the ski/surf/climb bum. Work a nite job during the winter, couple of month surf trips during the "off "seasons-spring/fall, pound nails and climb in the summer. Still managed to save enough to buy a house ( Hilton crk in the nineties was cheap) and have a family ( daughter will be twelve in a few days) Happy to have a place to hang my hat, most off my dirt-bagging is now done on backcountry trips and surf missions . Work hard/ play hard.....never stop.....
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