What does climbing success mean?

Posted by mrockclimber on April 1st, 2015

The following is an excerpt from Don McGrath and Jeff Elison’s best-selling book Vertical Mind.

"Something that I have grown to appreciate about rock climbing is that success on a climb does not necessarily mean that you made it to the top without falling. Sometimes success is falling, yet learning some lessons along the way. Sometimes success is falling and not completing the climb, but learning or solidifying a critical technique or skill required of the climb. While discussing this topic, co-author Jeff Elison commented that some of the best on-sight climbing he has done was on climbs that he didn't on-sight at all. He climbed some sections really well on-sight, but fell elsewhere. He still viewed these as successes.

Many people have asked me what aspects of their climbing they should focus on for the best and fastest results. These people, mostly weekend warriors like me, have limited time to devote to their training and want to know how to most effectively use it Many climb one or two days per week, and that constitutes the majority of their rock climbing training. My response to these people, unless I know them well, is "it depends." The focus area that will yield the greatest benefit varies from climber to climber and is dependent on a number of things. This answer is not a very satisfying one, so what I have done in order to be more helpful is define some stages in rock climber development and give some guidelines that can help you understand what may be some areas that could yield the most benefit, given where you are in your development."

What drives us to rock climb?

The following is an excerpt from Jeff Elison and my book Vertical Mind.

"It appears as though the joy of accomplishment, which psychologists refer to as "competence motivation," is very important to climbers in keeping them engaged in and motivated to train for climbing. Competence motivation is recognized by psychologists as a fundamental and powerful source of human motivation. For me, personally, I love the feeling of reaching my climbing goals. I love even the thought of reaching my climbing goals. I find it very satisfying to send a sport route that I have been projecting. I love sending a traditional route in good style. I love sending a boulder problem that initially seemed impossible for me. I get very inspired by climbing wild features that seem improbable and exciting. The joy of accomplishment provides fuel to sustain this inspiration and translates inspiration into the training and effort required to make those dreams reality.

You get inspired by things that either feel or look impossible, or at least appear challenging to you. You get excited by the thoughts and visions of yourself in the throes of doing such things. You anticipate the feeling of joy you will experience when you clip the anchors, grab that finishing jug, or cruise the crux pitch. At some level, you find joy in accomplishing something extreme."