Climbing Journals - Preserve Your Climbing Experience

By Author: Rick Chapo
Total Articles: 42
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Climbing is a great way to escape the rat race and be one with nature. Alas, your climbing experiences can fade with time. The best way to prevent this is to keep a climbing journal for your mountain, boulder and other climbs.

Climbing Journals

Take a minute to give some consideration to your most recent climbing experience. What sticks out in your mind? Now think about the first time you ever went climbing. Undoubtedly, you remember few things about the geography, people you went with, particular climbing routes and spectacular views. The experiences you've forgotten are lost to time. If you had kept a climbing journal, this won't be the case.

There are famous instances of people keeping journals throughout time. Of course, Anne Frank's Diary is the best example. In her diary, Anne kept a running commentary of the two years her family spent hiding from the Nazis. While your climbing experiences better be more lighthearted, keeping a journal will let you remember them as the years pass.

A good climbing journal combines a number of characteristics. First, it should be compact so ...
... you don't have to take up unnecessary space for other things. Second, it should have a case to protect it from rain, spills and so on. Third, the journal should contain blank areas to write your notes. Fourth, the journal should contain cue spaces to remind you to keep notes on specific things. Cues should include:

1. Who you went climbing with,

2. Where you climbed and if you enjoyed it,

3. Who you met and contact information for them,

4. The geographic and weather conditions,

5. Routes you tried and how far you made it, and

6. Any unique things that occurred while climbing.

At the end of the climb, you should be able to get the following from your journal:

1. Contact information for other climbers and people you met,

2. Enough detail to provide you or a friend with a guide if you climb the location a second time.

3. Memories to reflect upon years later, and

4. Something to pass on to your friends, children and grandchildren.

To get the most out of your climbing journal, you should write in it during climbing breaks or immediately after. Every climb is special, even if you just go down into a local canyon.

Climbing is a great way to commune with nature. Make sure to preserve the experience.

About the Author Rick Chapo is with Nomad Journals - Preserve the experience with writing journals for your travels. Read more articles and travelogues on NomadJournalTrips.com.