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Do you keep a climbing diary?

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 pamph 01 Feb 2015
I started hill walking in the mid 60's, progressing to rock climbing and mountaineering in the 70's. I didn't start to keep a diary of what I did until the end of the 1970's. The entries were usually short and precise, just a line of where and who with, what routes were done and/or failed on, but reading these few lines will bring back lots of memories, and I can usually recall the day in some degree. However, lots of the days I had before I kept diaries are more or less lost to me now, and that is something which I really regret. Do you out there keep a record of what you have done, or am I simply an old regressive? And yes I know you shouldn't live in the past!
Removed User 01 Feb 2015
In reply to pamph:

Did ya have to get up for a piss and can't get back to sleep?

Anyway, no, I have never kept a diary and wish I had although I'm not sure if it would have made good reading.
OP pamph 01 Feb 2015
In reply to Removed User:

For once the answer is no! I am on nights offshore and we have run out of bits to fit to the engine until the boat gets in. At a bit of a loose end so filling time with a different sort of pish.
Removed User 01 Feb 2015
In reply to pamph:

Still working offshore at 63? That's takes some gonads.

Anyway, I used to write dates in my guidebooks next to the climb which helps me remember the event.
Rigid Raider 01 Feb 2015
In reply to pamph:

Never kept a climbing diary and since my life doesn't allow me to climb at the moment I cycle and have kept a diary since moving from 21 years of mountain biking over the the greater fitness and subtlety of the road, five years ago.
 AdrianC 01 Feb 2015
In reply to pamph:

Yep. Started with my first ever route on the 8th June 1986 and still going. Fun to look back through and the search function in Word is handy when I'm trying to remember when (or if!) I did a certain route. It's also been useful to dredge through to demonstrate pre-requisites for courses so it's well worth doing for anyone who thinks they might do some sort of outdoor qualifications along the way.
 BusyLizzie 01 Feb 2015
In reply to pamph:

I came to climbing late (at 48, four years ago) and was so surprised by it that every trip out (once a month or so) was and still is an adventure and a treasure. I keep a climbing diary - I write a page or so about each day and stick photos in. I write about the day a few days afterwards when it has had time to settle and take shape in my mind - I haven't yet written up what I did a fortnight ago. It's a way of keeping the memories of both place and people ("Who will tie it up with a ribbon, and put it in a box for me?"). I really love that diary!

My diary is written so that I can comfortably show it to climbing partners, family, future grandchildren: although climbing days can be emotional at times, there isn't anything un-share-ably personal (about me or anyone else) in the diary.

A while ago an older friend sent me some pages from a notebook where he'd written up a climb he did on the Idwal Slabs as a very young man; he'd obviously written it while the memory of certain holds and step were still vivid in his mind. It felt like a real privilege to read it.

L


 goose299 01 Feb 2015
In reply to pamph:

Nearest thing I keep to a climbing diary is my logbook on here
 jcw 01 Feb 2015
In reply to pamph: yes from 1962 to present. Sometimes quite full when dealing with Alpine routes, expeditions and overseas climbing, sometimes no more than a note of routes done with whom. I don't bother with things like days out at Bleau (Font) while grit generally gets no more than a short entry like a dozen routes at Stanage with x or solo and the date unless the routes are notable. Have kept them in notebooks and have now typed the whole thing up: quite a large volume. I very much agree with the poster about not writing nasty things. Tolerance is essential in any climbing partnership and I have been the recipient of much patience by others. Am presently making a redacted and reduced volume with photos to circulate to friends. It also incidentally illustrates how values and approaches to climbing have changed over the years.

 Andy Morley 01 Feb 2015
In reply to pamph:

I'm not disciplined enough when it comes to book-keeping and those sorts of activities to do this but I admire people who do. I just take photos whenever I can - they're date stamped and remind me of whatever I did.
abseil 01 Feb 2015
In reply to pamph:

No. Wish I had.
 jon 01 Feb 2015
 GridNorth 01 Feb 2015
In reply to pamph:

I started walking and hiking in 1962 and rock climbing in 1964. Although I was in the habit of annotating my ascents in the relevant guide books I have long regretted not keeping a journal. In those years I have maintained a respectable standard and climbed all over the world so it would have made interesting reading, at least for me if not others. It would also have been handy for checking facts as when I get together with my friends from that era it's amazing how much our recollections differ.
OP pamph 01 Feb 2015
In reply to GridNorth:

Yes it is a shame that you have suffered from the same lack of foresight as me regarding keeping a diary. I was advised to do so by a climbing mentor in the 60's, but it all seemed too time consuming and unnecessary at the time. By the end of the 70's I realised that I was starting to lose track of what I'd done, so I began with a simple pocket diary,progressed to a desk diary, and have now reverted back to a pocket diary as old age creeps up.
 climber34neil 01 Feb 2015
In reply to pamph:

Yes I keep a climbing and walking diary as well as writing notes in guide books and using the log on here but most useful as a record are the diaries. Started by keeping a training diary to monitor progress but it developed into a more generic record of what I have done although I still use it for reference to monitor performance and just to reminisce

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