Seven Reasons Why Dirtbags are Awesome

1. They do what the rest of us simply talk about doing: They climb all the time. When was the last time you took a week off to go on a climbing trip? When was the second to last time you took a week off? How many times between those two trips did you talk about wanting to take more time off to climb? And why didn’t you do it? Dirtbags don’t have this problem. They work when their projects are covered in snow or on the weekends when the crags are crowded with everyone else. They don’t ask where they should climb for their two weeks of vacation each year; they ask what they should get on tomorrow.

2. They aren’t tied down. Dirtbags don’t have mortgages, homes, or jobs they feel they can’t leave. If they decide living in the desert would be fun, they turn the key in the ignition and drive to the desert. Maybe they have to wait two more weeks to get their next paycheck or work a few odd jobs along the way, but they aren’t planning trips months in advance because they “just can’t take time off from the office right now.”

3. They live sustainably. How much water do you use every time you shower? According to the USGS Water Science School, a ten-minute shower uses between 20 and 40 gallons of water. How often does the average dirtbag shower? Probably not every day. Take food waste for another example: dirtbags are famous for dumpster diving and eating abandoned cold slices of pizza that otherwise would go to waste. Think about all the fertilizers that go into making your food. What about all the water? The production of pound of beef requires 1,799 gallons of water. Dirtbags don’t add to the demand for increased food production; they live off of what everyone else needlessly throws away.

4. They don’t have a ton of extra “stuff.” If you’re living in a van you don’t have a lot of space for non-necessities. Dirtbags have their clothes, their gear, some day-old bagels, and maybe a favorite book or two. They don’t have boxes of old papers or thirteen different bottles of hand lotion gathering dust. They don’t hoard old stuffed animals or buy a t-shirt to remember every new place they visit. Their lives aren’t cluttered with things of little value.

5. They have fewer distractions: With no house to clean, no TV to waste a Saturday morning in front of, and no yard to mow, there are fewer things to distract a dirtbag from getting to the crag. It’s harder to procrastinate climbing when you can see your project from your campsite.

6. They are more content with less. If happiness is a rock and a pair of shoes, then dirtbags experience happiness a lot. They don’t need to work forty hours a week to pay their mortgage, rock the newest prAna jacket in the gym, or go out for dinner twice a week. All they need is a little food, some psych, and a rock.

7. They crush. You’d crush too if you climbed 200+ days out of the year.

Should you go climbing?: A Flowchart Guide to the Weather

I was inspired by Brendan Leonard's blog, semi-rad.com, to incorporate more flowcharts into my posts.

Here's a guide to climbing in all types of weather:

What to Get Your Special Climbing Someone

So Valentines Day is a week away, and you still aren’t sure what to get your favorite belayer/spotter who means a little bit more to you than just making sure you don’t die falling off your project. I’ve got you.

GIFTS FOR HER:

Photo courtesy of Beacon Hill Chocolates.

She’s awesome. You’ve hiked a few approaches, sent some routes, met up at the gym on a few rainy days, and taken her out for a few drinks after, but you don’t quite know where you stand. You should try:

Getting her some chalk. It’s something everyone needs, but it’s not expensive and if decorated correctly (stickers of hearts if you’re feeling bold, puppies if you want to seem cute, drawn-in stick figures if she might be friend-zoning you) could be fun. She’ll appreciate the thought but won’t feel bad if she didn’t get you anything.

Giving her chocolate. Everyone likes chocolate, and you can get her chocolate covered gummy bears if things are leaning more toward the friendly side or something in a heart shaped box if you want things to get mushy.

Taking her climbing! If that’s what she loves, what better way to win her heart than to guarantee her a belay and bring along her favorite climbing snacks?

Cam not included. Photo courtesy of etsy.com, 

where you can find custom made chalk bags by ArieLeeflang.

She’s amazing. You’ve gone on weekend trips, climbed in the cold, heat, rain, and other miserable conditions, and you know her favorite crag and how quickly she takes her shoes off at the end of a pitch. Basically, you’ve been dating for a few months, but things aren’t too serious yet. You should try:

Getting her a teddy bear chalk bag. Sure, normal stuffed bears are cute, but they soon be forgotten in the back of the closet. A teddy bear chalk bag, however, will be used frequently and commented on by other females and bear enthusiasts, so your special someone will be reminded of how sweet you are every time she goes to chalk up.

Getting her chocolate. As said above: everyone loves chocolate. You likely know her favorite kind by now, so get her some of that, and maybe something new to try too. Better yet, cook her favorite breakfast, take her for a day of climbing with all her favorite snacks, and then take her to dinner after and give her her favorite chocolate for dessert.

Getting her that piece of gear she needs replacing. Resole her warm up shoes if she’s wearing through or get her some extra quick draws. Is she always cold when you’re climbing and it’s below 50 degrees? Get her an extra jacket—try thrift stores for inexpensive down jackets and fill the pockets with hand warmers. You have been climbing together long enough to know what she needs, and she’ll appreciate your paying attention and getting her something useful.

Buying her a guidebook. If she happens to “have everything” already, buy her a guidebook to a place you’ve yet to explore. Give it to her with a note saying you’ll take her there for a long weekend, vacation, etc. She’ll be able to find projects in advance and have a fun trip to look forward to.

Photo courtesy of treehugger.com.

She’s incredible. You’ve gone on countless adventures filled with fun and riddled with mishaps, have trips and backup trips planned for the next six months, and know which brand of kleenex she prefers when she’s stuffy. You’ve been dating for a while, things are serious, and you want a gift that shows her how much she means to you. Note: Chocolate can—and should—be added to all of the gifts ideas below:

Nothing says I love you and I don’t want you to break your ankles like a Mondo crash pad.

A trad rack, or, more realistically, some of the pieces you’re missing, so you can complement each other with your gear too. Get her the pieces you’ll need for the next climbing vacation you’re taking. 

A portaledge. If you’re at that level in your relationship, why not take the next step in your climbing lives? You’ve already slept on crash pads; it’s time to take that to new heights.

GIFTS FOR HIM:

For guys it’s easy: wool socks, a hangboard and some beef jerky. 

Got the winter climbing blues?

Climbing in the winter in New England is a test of cold endurance and how many approaches you can walk to icy, unclimbable top outs before you become discouraged. It can be difficult to stay psyched when it’s fifteen degrees out and your project is under two feet of snow. All those approaches lugging crash pads and extra layers are great for your cardio, but doing three pull ups for your warmup and giving the lower half of one boulder problem four burns isn’t going to keep you in top climbing shape. Here are a few ideas to help keep you motivated and strong for when spring finally arrives:

Don’t be afraid of the gym. Everyone knows you love to climb outside and climbing on plastic is fake; however, the strength you will build from running laps on 5.10s and crushing everything v4 and under in a session is quite real. Try to hit up the gym once a week (or more if you have a membership). If you still want to climb outside or scout out projects in the spring, by all means do! But pick a day when it’s blizzarding or 5 degrees out to spend at least five hours playing around on plastic.

Along with going to the gym at least once a week, make your gym sessions count. Don’t just play on the slackline and eat snacks on the mats; climb. I like to warm up bouldering, working several routes at my projecting level before trying to send everything V2 (or whatever grade you can usually send in one to three burns) and down in the gym. Then I grab a snack, my harness, and a nalgene and hit the ropes. This forces me to have good technique when I’m tired, which I’ll need for multi pitch days in May. I start out with some harder routes where I’ll likely fall a few times on the way up, trying at least one climb that’s above my sending ability level to work on some harder moves. Once I’m too exhausted to project harder routes I try to flash 5.9s and easy 5.10s, working on my form to climb with the least amount of effort. Think legs. After about ten routes total, I move to the hangboards and pull up bars to finish the session off messing around and doing flips on the rings. It’s a fun way to burn yourself out at the end.

Do core three times a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday. It’s great cross training  and a perfect excuse to watch youtube videos, listen to your favorite music, and/or watch the latest dpm.com videos to distract yourself from your burning abs. Try eight minute abs or p90x abs (Erin highly recommends this version of the p90x video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8Ym423DqW0).

Become friends with your hangboard. Bookmark the Metolius training guide on your computer, max our your speakers, and tell yourself it’s ten minute to stronger tendons. Aim for two to three times a week.

Watch inspiring videos. It sounds corny, but whatever gets you psyched to climb, train, or simply dream about climbing, watch it. You’re not going to climb well if you aren’t excited about the route you’re working on, and you’re not going to put down your bag of cool ranch Doritos and get off your couch to do pushups if you aren’t looking forward to climbing in the Red over spring break.

Here’s a picture of Daniel Woods doing something impressive to get you psyched.

Photo courtesy of Beau Kahler Photography