Going Up– A Risk Worth Taking?

There are three things that come to mind when I think of rock climbing:

The Princess Diaries, REI and that Seinfeld episode where George and Kramer accidentally drop Elaine’s hot boyfriend (Tony) down the side of a mountain.

These references make it clear that I don't rock climb… I don’t climb rocks?

I’ve always loved hiking— that’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to climbing, but I hike for a different reason than most rock climbers or mountain climbers enjoy their activities. Hiking, for me, is more about getting out to enjoy nature. Trudging uphill through the woods is a safe and relaxing space for me— there’s no extreme challenge involved there. Rock and mountain climbers are looking for a challenge, that physical feat. I’m just trying to enjoy the pine trees.

Wildwood Trail, Portland, OR

After reading an article about heroic Afghan women climbing treacherous 16,500-ft. mountains and viewing a film in which climbers died in their pursuit to summit Mt. Everest, my attempt to scale the university’s recreational rock wall seems dwarfed and insignificant in comparison. After listening to Chancellor Struppa passionately discuss mountain climbing and the emotional connection fee holds toward it, my trip up the rock wall looks a bit less inspired. 

There are individuals who hike mountains so high above sea level their lungs and their brains and bodies are screaming at them to turn around, but they keep going. The Afghan women were at risk of being attacked and captured in mountainous Afghanistan, but they kept going. I couldn’t make it to the top of the rock wall because my forearms hurt and I swear there weren’t enough things to grab onto the higher you go up that wall. 

I remember being about three quarters up the wall, not having relied on the rope that I was tethered to, too untrusting to believe that anything but my own hands and feet were going to keep me stretched across that wall. Not only did I consider the vastly different physical effort that goes into really rock climbing, but I was also struck by the immense amount of trust and teamwork that are involved in real efforts to scale mountains and cliff sides.

(By the way, this is what really rock climbing looks like to me)

I think in extremes

My expert belayer, Haley, didn’t allow me to unravel into the ground, and for that I very much appreciate her. While climbing, and especially while swinging off the wall to prove to myself that I wouldn’t plummet, I was concerned with my knot placement, if I had locked the karabiner correctly. Did Haley have the appropriate grip on the rope? Was she strapped in correctly? I realized how technical the process of rock climbing can be and how much risk is involved when all that keeps one upright is a figure-eight knot that they tie themselves. 

There is a great deal of risk involved in attempting to reach great heights. There are great risks, but there is also great payoff. Despite the physical pain, the discomfort, the struggle to keep going, Chancellor Struppa spoke so intensely about the experiences he had mountain climbing. The passion that he had (and still has) for climbing mountains didn't really make me want to climb 10,000-ft (there's just no way), but I feel compelled to discover what in life could bring me that level of fulfillment and accomplishment.

Up may be risking, up may be unknown, but up is triumphant and high-spirited.