People dying on Mt. Everest, what else is new

[iceman]

Yeah you're lying.

[Mofro261]

sometimes the body has to feel stressed to appreciate the joy

[old goat]

I'm not missing the point. I understand the point perfectly--some people think that accomplishing an artificial, difficult, unpleasant, and useless goal is worthwhile, especially if they can tell other people about it. I just don't agree. I think doing something that is difficult and fun is worthwhile. I think doing something that is difficult, unpleasant, and does some good is worthwhile.

My son and I did the Tour du Mont Blanc last year. The last night we were staying at the Flegere hut. The trail was completely socked in the next morning, so we took the lift down to Chamonix. We could have hiked all day in the fog and made it to the official ending point but it didn't seem like the thing to do for us. We also took a lift the first morning to avoid a long uphill slog in the woods, but instead we did a more difficult but more scenic variation from the top of the uphill section.

[Angle Parking]

We've all met people for whom spending more than 15 minutes outside in winter is unfathomable, let alone riding a chairlift, let alone going for a tour, let alone climbing a mountain. Granted, some outdoor pursuits stretch the imagination with regard to their 'enjoyability'. Having said that, I totally get that an efficient antidote to the busy mind syndrome many of us suffer from is pushing the limits. Zen through suffering??? Nothing gets you in the moment like an epic outing and a flirtation (real or imagined) with the edge.

[iceman]

busy mind syndrome

that's pretty good, I hadn't heard it before but i think you're right it's very common. Like everybody has it more and more..

[Angle Parking]

I sure seem to have it more and more. A couple nights ago the dog and I hiked out to a little crag in the woods and I rappeled off the cliff 6 or 7 times. And why did I choose that as my evening activity? Because I knew that it would get me out of my f*cking thoughts and at least for a little bit, I would be fully in the moment.

[iceman]

honestly I've been trying to meditate for a year now, I think it helps some but I'm not good at it. Instead of meditating a lot of the time I get completely lost in thoughts, which is basically the opposite of meditating.

[bodywhomper]

My wife recently reminded me that there are many definitions of meditation and many goals of meditation. Though they all seem to focus on centering. A close friend once pointed out to me that skiing downhill can often be meditation, at least if you’re not trying to document it for bragging on social media. It is pretty easy to focus on the here and now when descending. Dolores lachappelle (sp?) wrote a book about it.

[Angle Parking]

honestly I've been trying to meditate for a year now, I think it helps some but I'm not good at it. Instead of meditating a lot of the time I get completely lost in thoughts, which is basically the opposite of meditating.

Me too man. I've tried meditating and it kinda works for me but when I really, really need to meditate, it just ends up being a ripe opportunity for negative rumination. Obviously I'm doing it wrong. Quasi uncomfortable activities that require hazard mitigation and little bit of putting it out there tend to get me to a meditative place. At least I'm only thinking about 1 thing.

Jeff Lowe touches on that in Metanoia.

[old goat]

One of the things I liked about climbing was that while I was climbing I was completely focused on about a 10 foot square of rock or ice in front of me
No room for thinking about the mortgage, or politics, or anything else. A kind of meditation or mindfulness if you will.

[Dantheman]

honestly I've been trying to meditate for a year now, I think it helps some but I'm not good at it. Instead of meditating a lot of the time I get completely lost in thoughts, which is basically the opposite of meditating.

Recognizing that your mind has wandered, then letting those thoughts go and recentering yourself on your breath is winning at meditation. Journey not the destination, yada yada yada.

[wyeaster]

honestly I've been trying to meditate for a year now, I think it helps some but I'm not good at it. Instead of meditating a lot of the time I get completely lost in thoughts, which is basically the opposite of meditating.

take 10 days and try this. there are shorter options, too, but if you really want to shock yourself, try 10.

https://www.dhara.dhamma.org/

[wyeaster]

snowboarding does it for me, particularly the weekdays that i go solo and don't ride a lift with anybody and don't talk to anybody. i don't listen to music.

one of the fundamental aspects of vipassana meditation is that there is no talking by students, no eye contact, no physical contact for the entire period.

[Timberridge]

As far as mind clearing. I wonder if it would be far cheaper, safer, and more environmentally friendly to pop some peyote buttons and have a vision quest on the top of a smaller mountain not so far away?

[wyeaster]

playing golf alone first out

[iceman]

Recognizing that your mind has wandered, then letting those thoughts go and recentering yourself on your breath is winning at meditation. Journey not the destination, yada yada yada.

I get that and when I recognize it I'm okay. But a lot of the time I'm just gone, I'm in some sort of deep thought/trance/dream state. It's weird. I can't even remember what I was thinking about. Maybe I'm asleep. I've compared it to being dead, it's that blank when I come back.

I had to cut the amount of time I was doing drastically to give myself a fighting chance to stay present at all. Lately I've been trying to build on that and lengthen the time again but with mixed success. I read a lot about it and nobody else seems to have this issue, or if they do they're not writing much about it. I dunno, I'm not giving up, but I'm not getting what you're supposed to out of it most of the time.

[Dantheman]

And if your knees can handle it, running on the downhill is guaranteed flow state given the consequences.

I'm convinced that downhill trail running is also the best off-season training there is for skiing. Still have my number? Hit me up if you ever want to get out for a RunDown.

[old goat]

Yeah, same for me. Lead climbing in particular almost always clears out the mind & forces you to turn off the hamster wheel.

I was always very calm leading, not so much following--too easy to let the mind start thinking about consequences.

[getoutside]

... running on the downhill is guaranteed flow state given the consequences.

^^ no doubt but fun as shit!

[iceman]

the late great Warren Witherell used to say that running in rocky dry streambeds was the best training you could do for skiing.

[abraham]

the late great Warren Witherell used to say that running in rocky dry streambeds was the best training you could do for skiing.

When I lived in Utah my favorite run was down Olympus. I'd do it with a roommate and we'd follow each other closely enough that you basically had to step where the first person put their feet. Otherwise you didn't have time to react fast enough. It was interesting to see how differently we chose to run down rocky trails.

[swissiphic]

Skiing is the best training for skiing.

[brutah]

I'm convinced that downhill trail running is also the best off-season training there is for skiing. Still have my number? Hit me up if you ever want to get out for a RunDown.

Running downhill seems like the only activity that is harder on your knees than skiing. You guys should go run with the hordes of people running down BCC every weekend, I hear you are guaranteed a PR hahaha

[skaredshtles]

[S_jenks]

Running downhill seems like the only activity that is harder on your knees than skiing.

Trail running is dope, but I always wonder about this part. Shits gotta wear on your knees the more you do it