Climbing Alone

I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but there simply isn't much real rock to climb around the greater metropolitan area known as Nashville. This forces us to either travel two hours south to good ole' Chattanooga or (for me) 45 minutes out to cool springs to train indoors. With that said, you will have to forgive me for my lack of posting since the blog has started. Cold and crappy weather in the south has limited the climbing around here to the gym.

I'm not sure why, but I've found myself climbing at the gym alone a lot here lately. I suppose when you're a freelance photographer and work by your own hours that's just what happens. At first it was kinda weird and almost even seemed pointless do to the fact that climbing up until now has been about %75 community and %25 personal ambition. I've found that I tend to climb better when my friends are there to yell and encourage me. We all know that it is easier to send a difficult problem when you have someone to push you. Well, when this translates into everyday life we all also know that there simply isn't always someone there to encourage or push you. When I first had this thought, I was discouraged and sitting in front of a problem that had been kicking my ass all day. It was in this moment that I realized the beauty in climbing alone. Encouraging myself and overcoming the mountain in front of me known as my mind is so important not only to climbing but to life as well. I really feel that most of the time its best for me to just block everything else out and let it just be me and the problem in front me. It's best to not worry about who is watching or who is there to encourage me or give me beta. At the end of the day, the only way I will be able to send the problem is with my own arms, legs, fingers, strength, mind, and will. Climbing at the gym by myself has become a vital part of getting stronger as a climber. I think there is room for interpretation as to how all this translates into life. You know what I'm sayin', doggg??

On a side note, my friends down in the chatty did some work up at LRC recently. Check out their video here

The New Blog... For Now

I'll be doing my blogging on this account from now on. If you are wanting to see some of my older posts, go to joshuamarkphoto.wordpress.com.