A Climbing Partnership

Part Essay, Part Poem. To everyone I have shared adventures on a wall with.

A climbing partnership is more than the belay. Everyone knows it can be hard to find someone you click with, that you want to spend cold mornings on a rock face with, that you trust to make the right judgments and keep both of you safe. Someone that you will want to make big plans with, go on big trips, have some epic adventures here and there. And times change, you build a rhythm with someone and they graduate, and move to another state. You visit them someday, a climbing friendship is a strong one. You learn so much with your first partners and so much more with the ones to come.

You climb indoors at first, next thing you know, you are falling on their gear anchor. You trust each other, find some sort of chemistry, you have a friendship and similar stoke. Finding a good climbing partner is a lot like dating, you have certain things you are looking for, certain expectations, and qualities. You have somewhat similar risk acceptance, similar goals, and favorite climbing styles. Similar knowledge, similar ways of doing things on the wall, and more that you can learn from each other with time.

I learned how to place better gear with Cici, I worked on some crag shenanigans with Marianna to set up top ropes when we didn’t want to lead. I took big falls climbing with Isaac and Alexandra, and Maxime almost yanked me all the way to the first bolt. I led my first trad multi-pitch with Danny, it was his first time too and it started raining, a small storm. He placed no gear on the last pitch, 5.4-6, before we could bail. “We need to get out of this ridge line!”, as this guy free-soled calmly past us.

I met one of my current climbing partners, Alex, on a post-it note, on a partner find board at a local gym. He sounded very stoked, “Will climb anywhere, anytime.” Exactly what I was looking for. We end up having the same birthday. We built a rhythm. We are still working on it.

You drive, I find a campsite and look at climbs. Choose around five, none that you like. Harder than picking a movie to watch. I set up the tent, you make the dinner. I climb the crack you climb the slab, no one really wants the chimney. You tell me to lead the pitch I’m scared of, you know I can do it. Maybe you let out a little white lie, say I’m better at finger cracks than you are, that I should do it. “Thank you, that was a sick pitch”. I know you like roofs, “You will love this next one, you should lead it.” “Can I have the water?”, “I brought gummy bears”. Pack our bags, first have a snack, I coil the rope, and you organize the cams. “I will lead this one for you”, says my 5.8 climber ass, leading a Yosemite 5.10 crack. “Just be aware, I will ask for takes.”

It is a strong bond, a different type of friendship, the one you build with your climbing partners. It is a beautiful aspect of our sport. A sport that is based on a strong community. A community that cares for each other and the environment. And sure there are issues in the community, there is blind trust, and there are different ideas of what climbing should look like and how it should be done. There are egos, and traditions, like in any other sport and any other community. But at the end of the day, we all want to be outside touching rock or indoors pushing our limits and having a good time with the people we love.