Thursday, June 18, 2009

Welcome to your future

Can you name this climb? I think it's the perfect climb. It took me 6 days to do it, although highschool kids have done it in an hour... The climb is Shosholoza, a Fred Nicole problem in Rocklands. I couldn't go to Rocklands this year, so I have been climbing around the Tahoe area and finding some amazing things. The climbing here in Tahoe, or anywhere else for that matter is very similar actually: you find a climb that you like, that challenges you, and then you tear your heart out trying it (if it's hard enough for you.) The point is to try your hardest. But that's the thing, how do you know if you are actually trying your hardest? The point of this blog will be to introduce you to fun new Tahoe climbs/climbing areas and to discuss the philosophy of effort; the philosophy of trying hard. I will try to explore some of the more subtle mental and psychological aspects of rock climbing. My goal is to update weekly and I would enjoy having an interactive discussion. For this first post, I'd like to propose a question. Do you think that the body follows the mind or that the mind follows the body? I will let you know my thoughts in the next post. Try hard! - Noah Kaufman, MD