The label “Gumby” has a pretty negative connotation.  I’m sure people wonder why I would embrace the label.  Most people use it to describe a novice climber that acts like he/she knows more than they do.  Of course, that’s not what I’m after.  Instead, I want to always remain mindful that I have a lot to learn. 

The importance of this came to a head at the end of my first climbing season.  I had started out the season learning the basics of climbing — tying in, top roping, the difference between sport and trad, etc.  Two-thirds through that season, I was able to start leading some easy climbs at 5.6 and 5.7 and was top-roping 5.9’s and a couple of 5.10’s.  Things were going great, and I was having fun.    

Along with that fun, however, came a bit of cockiness.  On the last day my wife and I were going to be climbing that season, we were at our normal crag, Foster Falls in Tennessee.  We had spent the morning climbing some 5.8’s and 5.9’s.  That morning, I had successfully led my first 5.9 (although, looking back, I think I went a bit off-route).  Then, it started to rain.  

To escape the rain, we packed up and headed around the corner from where we were climbing to an area under a huge roof.  There were several routes under the roof, but they were pretty much all 5.12’s and above.  However, there was one, short 5.10b at the end of the cave where we were.  My wife put it up, and I did a few top rope burns on it.  The starting move was the hardest move on the route, and the rest seemed like a 5.8, so I decided to lead it.  

Pre-Marital Drilling at Foster Falls, TN. This photo pilfered from Craghead.net. It seems that this route's rating is up for debate, but most guidebooks list it at 5.10b.

After pulling the opening bouldering moves and clipping the first bolt, I proceeded up the route that led to the left of the second bolt.  Once at the second bolt, I realized that I was in trouble.  The second bolt was several feet right of where I was, and, as far as I was concerned, there were no clear holds or foot holds that would allow me to get to it.  Looking up, the climbing wasn’t that tough, so I considered just skipping the bolt and climbing to the third bolt, which was directly above me.  However, looking down at the severe landing that would occur if I were to pitch off and deck made the climbing above me look a bit more strenuous.  

So, there I was.  I didn’t want to go right, and I didn’t want to go up.  Falling would mean a definite injury that I didn’t want.  So, I down climbed to the first bolt.  Oddly enough, I think that down climb was the best climbing I had done to that point.  Once I got to the first bolt, I went in direct, and my wife handed my the stick clip, which I used to make my way to the anchors.  It was a humbling and humiliating experience.

As humbling and humiliating as it was, however, it was even more of a learning experience.  It was through that experience that I realized just how much of a gumby I truly was.  The route I was on, Pre-Marital Drilling, is really not very difficult.  Even then, I had the physical ability to make all of the moves on the route.  Physical ability, however, is not all there is to climbing.  What I lacked was experience.  

It is from that experience that I am embracing my gumbiness.  I’m claiming this status because I want to remain mindful that I will always have a lot to learn.  I want to avoid the traps of trying to climb harder out of ego.  When I push my limits, I want it to be safe, smart, and fun.  Above all, I want to climb for the joy of it.  That day on Pre-Marital Drilling, I was trying to climb a 5.10 for the sake of climbing a 5.10.  From here on out, when I climb a route, I want it to be because of the beauty of the line, the fun of the movement, or the challenge that teaches me…not the grade.  Whatever you may think of me as a climber, I want to always consider myself a bit of a gumby.