saturday is going to be a zoo!

Actually rock climbing a particular route is like solving a puzzle. There may be multiple ways to solve the puzzle and some approaches are easier then others. Some of the puzzles can be quite tricky, just as in life

 

geez. people always gettin so butthurt on here about ever little comment....

Saturday is gonna be.....pretty close to flat. At least in MD/DE/VA and if the 'swell' is coming from the TS. It's too close to the coast and moving too fast to give us swell. Maybe something small coming thru from a different source?

 

Makes sense.. You're a climber? Much respect for them dudes (or ladies)... Takes a lot of commitment and balls

 

i feel like the water is still a tad on the chilly side so that may chase away some of the "hey today sounds like a good day to finally blow the dust off my board," people. if that does not chase them away it will at least minimize their time in the water before they cant feel their hands and feet.

if not the impact zone usually separates the men from the boys

 

Uhh.... Nope, it's a sport.. good try though.

 

This. With the forecast looking the way it is, I'd like to think that the inexperienced would stay dry. Common sense is not so common, however. Darwinism it is.

 

You dirty bastard. Pulling out the minigun and dusting it off for good reason. You are all dirty, filthy bastards, but I'm happy for you sailors, you. Even you Jerzholes. Got that love-hate for you jamokes. This is the one weekend I leave the area and we get a redonk forecast. I can't complain because I got to feed on (and be preyed on by) mad storms this winter and then the spring swell was constant all spring. I got to be out there every damn day and all damn day some of them. I also can't complain because my purpose for being inland is a good one and it's an annual event where me and a few good friends help several others with their future opportunities. Gotta pay back what we've been fronted for fortune and blessings.

But again, you're all dirty bastards and you all better consume mad waves Saturday. I wish good swell on all of you, up and down the right coast. Especially the birthday brah, because that is just the chronic to have the premiere TS pop off on your feast day. Feast on the stoke you dirty, filthy wavemonger.

You Roadislanders will know far better than I, and Ruggles is the jump off, however, Lighthouse, Matunuck, and Pilgrim all have double the power in kJ on the forecast. Then again, it's the full concoction of all factors and elements that yield the party on the liquid. Give the nearby breaks a drive-by before you select where you'll dine on swell. You can also avoid the ones infested with ignorant, parasitic kooks like me and get some solo time in the green room away from us.

Did I mention you are all filthy, sooty bastards? Enjoy yourselves. Hope the rumor of some nuggets on Wednesday turns up a scientific truth.

 

Climbing is as much a mental and physical challenge as surfing. As far as crowds go, climbing and surfing share a common thread. When climbing, the named routes are always crowded, but right around the corner is an unnamed slab with no lines waiting to climb it. When surfing, I'll check out the consistent spots, but if the first bar I pull up to is crowded, I'll walk a hundred yards and paddle out alone. Not that I mind crowds.. Small ones at least.

 

Climbing has turned into a purely gymnastic activity for some (sport climbing, gyms, bouldering) but for the people who want it take it deeper and more seriously it can "be the place where you find yourself and lose yourself" (sorry, but i had to use that quote lol). It is not about stupidly courting death but managing your decision making and fear when you know that the consequences for you and for others are very serious. In the moment, nothing else exists beyond your breath, your balance and the rock. As others have noted, getting to the top is great but the path is more important.

Once you move away from single pitch cragging on nice days, the committment and experience becomes more meaningful. Big wall, ice, alpinism. I love surfing but for very different reasons. There is a very different personal experience when you and your partner are living and climbing somewhere hours or days away from aid in the backcountry or wilderness. When the only sound in the evening is the groaning of a glacier and the sound of rockfall or avalanches down distant faces.

I think the biggest differences in the two are:

1) Surfing is an interaction with the dynamism of waves and the ocean whereas in climbing, while the environment is dynamic, the playing field is relatively static. You can feel the energy but you dont harness it and ride it.

2) surfing is a very quick interaction whereas a climb can be hours or days or even weeks in the moment. That time factor is key in generating feelings.

3) Surfing is fun. It can be unpleasant in january and sraping a reef sucks but at the end of the day, every ride was fun and you go home and have a beer. There is alot in climbing that is not fun: cold/wet/hot for days, afraid for yourself or for your partners, altitude sickness, hunger, 70 lb packs in waist deep snow. Perhaps for only a few sublime moments when a flower on the rock or sun on ice creates such beauty that it tears open your chest and bares your heart to the world that humans havent paved, packaged or subjugated.

I love surfing although i have only been doing it for a few years now. I will often choose surfing over climbing because fun is often a nicer choice than fear and pain (duh). But I dont think that i will ever achieve the emotional responses that serious climbing provide me.

sorry for the essay but its a great topic! now lets hope this weekend holds! you'll probably find me south end of OCNJ all weekend.

peace

 

I don't climb but know someone who does. I think climbing and surfing have many similarities. Both require specialized physical and mental conditioning. They may induce you to travel to various interesting places and you get to interact with the natural world. They both have an element of danger up to and including death (if it can't kill ya, it ain't a real sport?) depending on how far you want to take it. And even though you may participate with others present, you're still all alone in getting it done.

This is Alex Honnold, one of the big wave surfers of the climbing world, probably the best. Mucho grande cojones:

[video=youtube;SR1jwwagtaQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR1jwwagtaQ[/video]

Did your palms sweat watching that?

 

Honnold is a freak of nature and nurture. Seems to be a real nice guy and incredibly strong mentally and physically. Filming free soloing strikes me as a real bad idea because it takes their focus off the rock to the camera. I really hope he makes it to 40.

 

Those free solo guys are outta their minds...just the footage from half dome made me a little dizzy.

 

SURFING IS NOT A SPORT !! Jeez, Americans don't even think soccer(futbol) is a sport. Calm down soccer enthusiasts, I got nothing against soccer. Actually, I find soccer hooligans fascinating, and youse guys think Philadelphia Eagles fans are nuts.

Ok, I recognize that most hardcore shredders aren't really internet types, but I find the lack of devotion and fanatacism for surfing on this website to be quite surprising. Where's the frothing groms at? And the older, but novice guys, should be stoked out of their gords. From age 13 to 30 I was completely obsessed with all things waves/ocean.

I don't know.....is it all too easy these days? Good wetsuits, surf cams, internet forecasting, a more civil surf population, generational spots being taken over by the masses....................

By the way, let me ask some of the scholarly types on here something. I'm not by any means saying all, but many real good surfers aren't real bright. Why is that? A lot of them are kind of neanderthal-ish. Any thoughts on that one.

But anyways, judging from this thread it seems that the SWELLINFO.COM community has more love for rock climbing than surfing. I'm not criticizing y'all, actually that's fine by me. I hope everybody goes rock climbing tomorrow.

And The Bodhizattva and his crew were all aboot surfing first and robbing banks second. The other activities were just side projects. Bodhi knew what was up. Hey Jesus(WalkingonH20), we should rob bodegas to support an endless summer in Camden. The spot in front of the old state pen should be firing tomorrow.

 

Mr. NYNJ, I learned how to deal with solitude from the ocean. I learned that most of the stuff people prioritize in life is bullhonkey. I learned what matters in life is more deep than a b!tchen car or a pocketfull of cash. I learned that if I can handle 23 foot Ventnor Pier I can handle any person or situation this world throws at me.

I laughed on weekday mornings as the world was rushing to work, and I was leisurely heading to Cedars.

I learned that as long as I was passionate aboot surfing, that those land-based problems didn't matter so much.

And.........I also practiced my multiplication tables in the water, and learned that I, myself, would always be my best conversational partner.............Oh, I also learned how insignificant humankind is, though we think we are pretty damn special. The ocean and it's jellyfish will show you that.

 

Wow, can't believe it but I actually agree with this. Well, except for practicing multiplication tables, but i'm guessing that's sarcasm so I get it.

 

PB&J, the reason most intellectuals are not great surfers is because they can't focus on the now. Surfing is the epitome of being in the now. Time slows down and you are solely in the moment. Feeling the wave, making constant minor adjustments with your fine motor muscles and stabilizing with your larger ones. It's all about feeling the wave and unconsciously allowing your mind to adapt to the changing conditions you are faced with.

There are plenty of smart people that surf well, I'm sure. It's just that in modern society we tend to polarize people in a way that makes everyone feel better about their short comings. Ever heard of the term renaissance man? It means a man with brains and brawn. It's not so far fetched, it's just that modern society allows people to be complacent being one or the other, and pushes them towards thinking that it's beyond their control to change it. That's politically correct BS if you ask me. Some people are better at being a human. On the opposite side of the same token, some people are terrible humans all around. We are not all equal, and my faults don't correct yours, likewise yours don't correct mine. No one should accept their faults, they should come to terms with them and then fix them. Don't allow your past transgressions to affect your future potential. Anyone can become smarter and anyone can become more into the now.

Neanderthal types are already in the now, all of the time. For a lot of brainiacs that are out of shape or whose only exercise is running 6 miles an hour surfing and being in the now is not something they are accustomed to. Could they adapt? Sure they could.

But for the neanderthal type that is genuinely less intelligent, they are what they are. A less evolved monkey.

 

HOLY SH*T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So insane. That dude has the biggest set of balls I've ever seen

 

+1. The ocean is so unpredictable. The ocean is constantly changing and it will crush you when you least expect it. It has taught me about overcoming fear and betting a better person outside of the water. The world is so insignificant after spending time in double overhead winter surf. It's a great feeling inside after you surfed large waves in very cold water. You carry it with you and realize that most other people in the world don't have any idea how that feels.

I have to say that the video of rock climbing looks sick and it definitely dangerous. I just think I wouldn't get the same rush as surfing double overhead in an environment that can't be controlled. Long hold downs which scare the crap out of you. I can always breathe on a rock. Both surfing and climbing can result in death. I just would feel more safe on a rock that doesn't move with a harness. That's just me though. I haven't climbed without a harness which would probably teach you a lot about fear too but I'm sure people making the argument for climbing have never surfed double overhead in 38 degree water either.

 

..... Yeah, it's a sport.

 

And, we are neglecting to point out one fact aboot surfing in comparison to rock climbing or tennis. Surfing is fun. It's thrilling. Dropping in is like riding a rollercoaster. Flying down the line is exilharating.

Surfing also has "the accomplishment" thing going too........you made it out and tackled a hairy day............you surfed that sketchy piece of coast by yourself..........you did a good cutback...........

Plus, it's kind of a combination activity. Like dudes, paddling out can compare to climbing that ledge. Reaching the line-up, and taking in the southern sky is like reaching the peak and scanning the horizon. Then you catch a wave and the real fun begins.

What other LIFESTYLE allows one to harness and ride mother nature's energy? Really man, especially in places non-east coast...........man dudes are riding the energy of storms thousands of miles away. That's incredible, man.