My girlfriend, while browsing my little home library, came across this book. I acquired it while I was in Chicago for Lollapalooza two years ago. I was sitting in a coffee shop that had a give-a-book-take-a-book thing, spotted this relic, and, while I had nothing to give, I felt that I was entitled to be its owner.

She brought it up after coming back to the climbing gym with me, and asked if I had read the passage about how you shouldn't climb with your girlfriend/boyfriend all the time...

Well, this got me to thinking about a few things. For one, there have been a lot of people before me who thought about all this stuff like, 20 years ago, and I am in no way a special or profound person. Then, I thought, Wait, yes I am. So here it is: My Thoughts on Recruiting New Climbers

Thoughts on Recruiting New Climbers

1.Stop spraying beta at a brand new climber.
2.They won't know what "flagging" is.
3.You don't want your significant other to be your sole best climbing buddy.
4.If your girlfriend/boyfriend first climbed with you, find them some other climbing friends with whom they can grow as a climber. Climbing is a gift that is bigger than your stupid insignificant relationship that's going to crumble in 7 months anyway. [Disclaimer: Honey, I didn't mean us. I'm just saying, it's like statistics. And statistics are imaginary anyway, right? I knew you'd understand.]
5.If you're bringing your friend climbing for the first time, let them keep their beginner's mind. Give them space to act like a kid, and flail as their feet are eight or nine feet below their hands on a 5.7.
6.Climbing isn't going to be as fun for your large friend that you're inviting along just to be nice. In fact, it might not be fun at all.
7.Your all-star, super-athlete, wire-build buddy will out-climb you shortly after they learn what a figure-eight knot is (you know who you are). Be prepared, and leave your ego at home.
8.The guy at work that is 30 years your senior wants to be a climber too. He just doesn't know it yet.
9.The one label the media gave climbing that will forever limit its accessibility: Extreme.
10.Don't try to turn the drama queen with the perfect ass into a climber, but bring her along just once so all your buddies can stare at her high-stepping on a 5.5.
11.Better yet, bring her camping.
12.I'm getting distracted.

Check out the article and the rest of the site Eastern Climber