UKC

A lot of climbers are quite independent people, who often enjoy doing things alone, like me.

Does anyone else get annoyed with their climbing "friends" or find it hard to find people you like? I much prefer all of my non-climbing mates to such a degree I wonder why I call myself a "climber" at all. I wonder whether I should just either get into solo bouldering only or start cycling or something

In reply to improveonsilence:

Completely the reverse. My climbing friends are the biggest part of my social circle and the people to whom I'm closest.

In reply to improveonsilence: Maybe you just havent met the right people? I feel like I get on well with 95% of other climbers I meet, other than UKC ranters they're all sound. Maybe you have only climbed with that 5%. Or maybe you're in the 5%? Buy a shunt, or silent partner or something...

In reply to improveonsilence:

If you climb in a big group, say in a uni club, i could see how the group mentality thing would be annoying.

However, I agree with the previous posters, climbers are often great company in my experience. Maybe you've just not find the right partner(s) yet.

In reply to improveonsilence:
As much as they will annoy you...40 odd years down the line you will probably remember the folk you were with when climbing as much as the climbs..Precious memories..I speak from experience!

In reply to improveonsilence:

I find that most people who don't climb don't really understand me or the decisions I make. It's sort of hard to explain to someone who doesn't climb why I can't go out for drinks after work every day, or why I wasn't at the New Years Party last year.

I had some great friends in uni who weren't climbers. We had other things in common, like university! But once we graduated I lost touch with those people pretty fast.

In general I don't really like most people. But when you head into the mountains with someone - when you turn around and look across the valley to see a deadly storm headed your way; when you share a single sleeping bag with someone; when your partner is the only person you see for days at a time - you tend to form a bond with that person, even if you didn't like them at first.

All that said, there is something to be said about having partners that are interested in the same things as you other than climbing. Otherwise you'd always have to talk about climbing and that would kind of suck. So like othes have said, maybe you just need to look for some new partners.

But in my experience I need to be around people who climb - other people don't really get me.

In reply to improveonsilence:

Most people i climb with are total w@nkers, but beggars can't be choosers.

In reply to improveonsilence:

I have the best of adventures with my climbing buddies. Some big climbs in the Alps, just the two of you, an intense epic. Great memories, and sad ones, when I think of friends who've died, and I'm the only one left with memory of some of our epic days out.

In reply to Mr Mark Stephen Davies:

Yeh,that Stanners is a knob!

In reply to improveonsilence: Another +1 from me on the "all my friends are climbers, I like almost all climbers and I have very few friends who are non climbers AND those are from school/uni days".

In reply to Mr Mark Stephen Davies:

But most non climbers are even worse.
Isn't humanity shit?

In reply to improveonsilence:
100% agree. I don't get along with 90% of the climbers I've met. They are cliquey, mostly middle aged, talk too much macho crap, never share my taste in good music, literature, art or philosophy. I end up hanging out with chicks and climbing on my own, even though I really like the idea of finding one like minded person to climb with... In truth I think it really comes down to the fact that I'm not a very sociable person, and they are probably a nice group of blokes.

In reply to improveonsilence:

These two statements surely contradict? Perhaps the first is the problem hindering the second?

In reply to improveonsilence: I've always found 90% of climbers I meet are pretty sound, or at least easy enough to get along with.

Maybe the problem is closer to home?!