Why you climb?

Why do you you climb (or backpack, rock climb etc.)? I am writing a research paper for school about why people climb. I am focusing on big mountaineering, however i would appreciate your thoughts on why you do any mountain sport. Please just give your gender and age, what sport you do, what level you are on (are you just a beginer or are you a world class rock climber), and any notable climbs or expeditions you have done.

Try reading the book "Mountaineering - Freedom of the Hills" It talks about why people climb and the many techniques, equipment and etc of mountaineering. I for one never went mountaineering but have done rock climbing and many class 2-3 scrambles which gives you the thrills

Dbugh89 asks in a troll:
"Why do you you climb (or backpack, rock climb etc.)? I am writing a research paper for school about why people climb. I am focusing on big mountaineering, however i would appreciate your thoughts on why you do any mountain sport. Please just give your gender and age, what sport you do, what level you are on (are you just a beginer or are you a world class rock climber), and any notable climbs or expeditions you have done."

There have been books and articles by the (literally) thousands written in answer to this, some by articulate writers, lots by inarticulate mumblers. Plus there are websites and Usenet groups that focus on the whole variety of mountain sports. The simple answer is that there are as many answers as there are people doing the activities. And they range from the physical challenge to the mental challenge to the social aspects to the "peace and beauty of the outdoors" to the "awesome power/beauty/etc" and on and on, including the apocryphal quote from Mallory "because it is there" (historically there is no evidence that he actually said this, but that it is a typical journalist's twist of something Mallory sort of hinted at).

Well, ok, in case you really are trying to write something for a class and not just trolling:

1. Why do you you climb (or backpack, rock climb etc.)?

Too long to answer here - mostly just a bad habit I picked up somewhere in my childhood. But all the good things you read about in the stereotypical descriptions - physical and mental challenge ("like a chess game" as a friend put it long ago, working out the puzzles and combinations of moves), beauty of the outdoors, escape from civilization, etc etc all that garbage.

2. Please just give your gender and age,

Male, Old Greybeard (card-carrying "elderly"), wandering aimlessly around the woods, hills, deserts, jungles since I was 6 months (based on a photo of me with my parents), so over 6 decades.

3. what sport you do,

rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, backcountry skiing, backpacking, nature photography, .... Oh wait! you asked about "sport". I don't do no "sport climbing". "Sport Climbing" is neither.

4. what level you are on (are you just a beginer or are you a world class rock climber),

Man, I am World Class! No, really, I am a beginner. You would think after 6 decades, I would have some level of competence at some aspect of the activity. But, no. It's all I can do to struggle up easy stuff on a good day.

5. and any notable climbs or expeditions you have done.

Depends on what you mean by "notable". Naahh, nothing notable. I have clawed my way up some of the rocks in places like Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne, Tetons, Colorado Rockies, some of the rock things around Chamonix and Australia, and bashed my way up a few ice climbs, plus hiked some hills like Ixta, Popo, Denali, Matterhorn, some things in the Cascades, Canada, couple others.

The Views
Doug, male, 33, novice.
Whitney, Wheeler, Phillips, Baldy, Tooth of Time

yeah, i just backpack, do it for fun, and to stay in shape (it's a great way to stay inshape b/c 1) you are using a lot of energy, 2) the food is not that good so you don't eat that much;).

bill, what is with you and "trolling"??? the kid just needs help with a project ok??? give him a break! and maybe once could you please define trolling??? is getting school done trolling??? maybe just posting a question is considered trolling??? should we email you with a question before posting it to get your aproval???

>>> "trolling"???

Means the posting of questions for the purpose of getting a reaction, not for the gaining of information.

>>> the kid just needs help with a project ok??? give him a break!

You're sure about that? This type of question gets posted a lot. And it is better answered by either:

(1) going to the library and searching the huge amount of literature out there (better, more thoughtful answers than he would get by posting a request for "Please just give your gender and age, what sport you do, what level you are on (are you just a beginer or are you a world class rock climber), and any notable climbs or expeditions you have done."

(2) going directly to a set of climbers (via something like the American Alpine Club, Seattle Mountaineers, Mazamas, or other climbing organizations), or going to popular climbing areas and polling climbers directly.

The web is not going to give valid answers, especially if he posts on something like Usenet.

>>> and maybe once could you please define trolling???

See above. The wording of this post has many of the earmarks of a troll (trolling here has the same basic definition as it does in the fishing community). True, not all posts with the earmarks of a troll are intentional trolls. But a lot of them are.

Some earmarks - poster name "Dbugh89" Get it? "debug", from the computer world (yeah, I know, some email and other web access portals assign combinations of letters and numbers, so it might be coincidence). No introduction of who he/she is, identification of institution, other legitimizing information, no reply-to address (just post it publicly on the web). Type of information requested - "... just give your gender and age, what sport you do, what level you are on.., and any notable climbs or expeditions you have done." No questions having to do with what is really sought beyond the generic "Why you climb?"

>>> is getting school done trolling???

Not at all. But, as noted, there are much better ways of doing a school project, and ones which would give usable answers. If I had gotten a project turned in back when I was a university professor that the information was gathered this way, I would have turned it back to the student with the comment to do research in a way that would provide valid data. Polling the web at large will not give valid answers to the question I suspect was posed. Doing web searches would be somewhat better. But surveying the published literature and/or directly polling climbers, backcountry skiers, backpackers, and such would provide genuinely useful information.

>>> maybe just posting a question is considered trolling???

Nope. Depends on the subject matter and the way the question is worded.

>>> should we email you with a question before posting it to get your aproval???

Good grief, absolutely not. I am not the site owner, moderator, or anything else. Just a frequent visitor.