Somehow, I didn’t fail. On my 50th birthday, I managed to scrape my way up my one-hundredth 5.13.

I don’t set goals so that I can achieve them. I set goals so that I can chase them.

If we’re always compensating for some weakness or skill we don’t yet have, how will we ever improve?

I wrote a book about commitment in climbing. I should have known.

But then it hit me… Techniques are just the language we use to name the combination of elements as they show up in usage.

No matter what technique, its success depends on getting the basic elements right: Position, Tension, Rhythm, Commitment, and Effort.

Particularly when it comes to climbing better, knowledge alone isn’t all that helpful.

Maybe “careless and sloppy” isn’t always so bad.

“Climbing is a skill sport,” isn’t enough.

Improvement doesn’t need to be complicated.