No Friends on Rehab Days

I recently read this hilarious article written by Kevin Corrigan at Climbing Mag about how one of the worst parts about being injured is that you stop seeing all your climbing friends, which is sometimes the majority of your friend group. This really hit home for me, as I’ve spent the last six weeks rehabbing a tweaked finger. It’s coming along well, but working out in the gym, doing hangboard sessions and the occasional solo bolting mission means a heck of a lot of time by myself.

It also got me thinking about one of the most powerful aspects of our sport, the human connection. Sure I love the physical nature of it, flexing my mental muscle and honing my technical skills, but from long trad routes to a day of trying hard and falling off steep cliffs, the camaraderie between partners is a big part of what makes climbing so special.

Our sport is very social by nature, there is a lot of down time, approach time, deproach time, and just plain driving to the crag time. It gives us a chance to really get to know our partners. And then of course we get to see them at their best and their worst, the moments of pure unadulterated joy and crushing defeat. It creates a unique bond you probably don’t get playing basketball with friends.

So aside from just going climbing, which I really, really, really, really miss at this point, I can’t wait to get back out to the crags and reconnect with the incredible local climbing community we have here.