As I get older I realize more and more that my ADHD probably spurred my interest in climbing. It's an excellent outlet for my excessive physical energy.

It will definitely burn excess energy.

First went multipitch trad climbing at 9 yrs old. Was hooked on all forms of climbing ever since!

I got into it for the money and the women. Still waiting for both, so I keep climbing.

Bob Sihler wrote:I got into it for the money and the women. Still waiting for both, so I keep climbing.

Sounds like you got dem ol' Dirtbag Blues, Bob...

The views for sure. Also, it was something I could plan on my own and do at my own pace in my own way...And although it can be expensive it doesn't have to be.

stoaX wrote:The views for sure. Also, it was something I could plan on my own and do at my own pace in my own way...And although it can be expensive it doesn't have to be.

Right ... the views of women gets tedious and boring after awhile --- unless you have a female climbing partner ...

Well, a trip to Goblin Valley and dinking around in a surprisingly scenic area behind a parking lot was what got me into hiking. What led me to peakbagging from there was looking up Box Elder Peak 11,101, UT, and stumbling upon the SP page. From there, one thing led to another, and now I'm completely hooked. The moral of the story? Don't do peakbagging, even just once. You'll get addicted. Now I can't go anywhere without trying to bag some peak or another.

An older friend took me free-soloing at the local crag when I was about 13 years old

We had a game: climb straight up to the top
Walk 10 paces, then climb straight down
Walk 10 paces, then climb straight up....

Here is a photo of the cliffs we free-soloed, from a year later after we started using Goldline rope (c. 1974)
I'm 14 years old in this photo, climbing with my brother who was 11

Sierra Ledge Rat, that's a great photo.

Just curious -- where is that cliff?

Now that I think about it, it must have been all of the asses I got to look at while on belay.

Bob

JD wrote:Just curious -- where is that cliff?

Rhode Island. The cliffs are in a wildlife refuge. Climbing was prohibited. So we did all of our climbing in the dead of New England winters when there was no one around to kick us out.

The cliffs were not very high, but the ridge was long (about half-a-mile). In keeping with the BGT (British Girdle Tradition), we often did long, multi-pitch girdles from one end of the ridge to the other (2 dozen pitches).