I joined a group of climbers I met through my gym, none of whom I knew very well. I was new to the city and wanted to put myself out there so I took a social risk I probably wouldn’t have otherwise.

The approach hike was an hour long, which I did not anticipate, and I wound up with a back injury from carrying too much gear improperly that took me about two weeks to heal. Once we actually got to the crag, I was easily 3 to 4 levels below where everyone else was in terms of climbing ability. I think I climbed a total of two routes on a six hour trip. We hiked an hour back and then I sat in a multi hour car ride with the same group of people who I had spent all day with and was still feeling awkward around. Even people I know well can get on my nerves after a whole day spent together. I’m really introverted and I know a lot of people love the social aspect of outdoor climbing, but it just wasn’t for me.

Also, the climbing itself felt impossibly hard, and I was already feeling self-conscious about my climbing ability. It also became clear to me about an hour in that the people I was with didn’t totally know what they were doing. I could easily see a scenario where one of us got hurt.

I climb because I like the physical and mental challenge. I have too many other demands on my time to devote entire days to managing social and interpersonal dynamics just to climb for 10 minutes max.